Top experts have warned that an urgent review is needed to ensure that people in England can get weight loss drugs such as Wegovi and Monjaro on the NHS.

A day before this, the Prime Minister had said that such injections can boost Britain’s economy. Getting obese unemployed people “back to work”,

More than 200 doctors and experts have now written to the Health Secretary saying that NHS obesity treatment services are facing unprecedented demand from patients wanting these medicines.

He cautions that injections are only one part of a comprehensive package of non-stigmatizing care.

They say the government must fix some of the fundamental issues in NHS obesity services – chronic shortages, workforce challenges and unequal access to care.

Sending a letter to Wes Streeting Obesity Health Coalition (OHA), which represents health charities and medical royal colleges, and compiled a report.

It says some patients can wait up to five years for specialist help, and some services are so overwhelmed that their waiting lists have closed entirely.

The OHA wants to see equal access to obesity treatments, including weight loss injections.

There have been reports of global stock shortages and currently on the NHS in the UK, the injections can only be offered through specialist weight-management services.

The OHA warns that some patients go private, but many others are left out.

According to the OHA, around four million people in England are eligible for Wegovi, but NHS projections predict that by 2028, fewer than 50,000 people per year will receive treatment.

upcoming approval The report warns that it could be risky for the NHS to use another injection, called Monjaro, which has been dubbed the King Kong of weight loss injections by some because of how well it worked in trials. Even more pressure is expected on the system.

Alfie Slade, head of government affairs at the OHA, said: “The new weight loss medicines represent a breakthrough in treatment, giving hope to millions of people struggling to manage their weight, but they will hamper our current obesity services. It also exposes weaknesses.

“Without immediate government intervention, we will fail to meet the needs of millions of patients, leading to increasing health disparities.”

Despite the benefits, health experts also caution that Vegovy and Monjaro, which mimic a hormone that makes people less hungry, are not a quick fix. Patients should still exercise and watch what they eat.

Users may gain their weight back after stopping the drug.

And, like any medicine, it can have side effects.

Doctors are concerned about the increasing number of patients who are experiencing complications from taking weight loss drugs purchased online without clinical supervision.

In many cases people don’t actually get what they think, which can be very dangerous.

OHA says public health measures, such as improving the country’s diet and helping children get enough exercise, are also important to help prevent obesity in the first place.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said obesity costs the NHS “more than £11 billion a year and also places a significant burden on our economy”.

“As obesity-related illness causes people to take more days off, obesity medications may be part of the solution,” he said.

The spokesperson also said that a junk-food advertising ban and a ban on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children would help tackle the “obesity crisis”.