Doctors warn of 'two-tier' weight loss jab system as just 705 Scots get Mounjaro on NHS while 300,000 pay privately

Only 705 Scots have received weight loss jabs through the NHS across three years of pilot schemes, while an estimated 300,000 pay privately at up to £4,000 a year. Professor Mark Strachan of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh warned the drugs — which cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes by around 20 per cent — are out of reach for those in the most deprived communities. Just five of Scotland's 14 regional health boards are even offering the injections.

Mounjaro was approved for NHS weight-management use in Scotland in 2024, Wegovy in 2023, yet most health boards still do not prescribe them.

Strachan said some of his patients have lost over 20kg using the drugs, calling their arrival 'a monumental development' in treating obesity and type II diabetes.

The wealthiest Scots can simply go private, he warned, creating a system where financial means — not medical need — determines who gets life-changing treatment.