Reuters
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has dismissed suggestions that plans to offer weight loss therapy to obese unemployed people are “dystopian”.
The UK government has partnered with pharmaceutical giant Lilly to test whether weight loss drug Munjaro can help more people return to work and prevent obesity-related diseases, in a bid to reduce the burden on the NHS. A yearlong clinical trial is being conducted. In England.
The announcement sparked a backlash, with accusations that the government was stigmatizing the unemployed and devaluing them economically.
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Mr Streeting said the jab was part of a wider health plan, adding: “I’m not interested in a dystopian future where we automatically jab overweight unemployed people. There is no such thing,” he added.
“There’s already a lot of evidence that these jabs, combined with changes to diet and exercise, can not only help people lose weight, but also help prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This is a game-changer. ” Streeting said.
But he warned against creating a “culture of dependence”.
Some injections are already prescribed on the NHS to treat obesity and are also prescribed to people with diabetes.
Mr Streeting said obesity-related illnesses cost the NHS £11 billion a year.
Obesity is also linked to the development of type 2 diabetes, and the NHS spends around £10 billion a year, or 9% of its budget, on caring for people with diabetes.
According to the latest NHS England Health Survey, 29% of adults in the UK will be obese and 64% will be overweight or obese in 2022.
Mr Street said he expected “demand” for new weight loss drugs to outstrip NHS supply.
The UK trial is the first of its kind in the world and will measure the impact on the employment prospects of up to 3,000 people living with obesity in Greater Manchester.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously told the BBC the jab would be “hugely useful” for people who want or need to lose weight.
“[This drug]is very important for our NHS, because yes we need more money for our NHS, but we also need to think differently.”
Professor Simon Capewell, a public health expert at the University of Liverpool, said the scheme was “unethical” and targeted people for economic reasons “rather than prioritizing their own interests and health”. said.
Obesity expert Dr Dorie van Tureken said the plan not only had “serious ethical, economic and effectiveness considerations”, but was also unrealistic.
Dr van Tureken said the scheme would target a population of “several million people” and the specialist weight management service would only be able to treat 49,000 people a year.
Previous plans to “look at people or evaluate people based on their potential economic value rather than primarily based on their needs or health needs” had failed “very badly” in the past, she said. spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Mr Street defended the government’s decision to examine the economic impact of weight loss drugs.
“If we can reverse the obesity trend, that’s better for the health of the population,” Streeting said.
Improving public health “is also good for the health of national finances,” he added.
Labour’s NHS 10-year plan
Labor campaigned on a promise to transform the NHS from treating disease to prevention.
On Monday, Street plans to begin discussions on proposals that include providing smartwatches and wearable devices to track patients’ health and address serious conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Labour’s 10-year plan for the NHS also includes rolling out more weekend activities to tackle waiting lists and creating neighborhood health centers to ease growing pressure on hospitals. are.
Mr Street told the BBC that the government intends to “link” funding to NHS trusts to their ability to implement reform.
Asked if hospitals and trusts could be penalized for “not playing ball”, he said: “There is definitely a need to manage performance.”
The Government is reportedly considering ways to change NHS funding to prevent trusts from running into debt and needing bailouts.
Mr Street told the BBC: “One of the things that is common in the NHS is a culture where trusts run up huge deficits year after year and are not held accountable, just as local councils do.” Ta.
