Mounjaro (Tirzepatide) weight loss jab access in Cheshire and Merseyside

News - 25 June 2025

The new weight management medication ‘Tirzepatide’ (brand name Mounjaro®) is shortly being made available to some NHS patients to support weight loss. At present, patients CANNOT gain access to the medication directly from their GP.

Tirzepatide is being made available on a phased basis, with the first group of people eligible under the national criteria being people who:

Have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 kg/m² or more (or 37.5 kg/m² for people from minority ethnic family backgrounds)

and

Have at least four of the following long-term conditions:

dyslipidaemia (abnormal fat levels in the blood)
hypertension (high blood pressure)
obstructive sleep apnoea (when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep)
cardiovascular disease (heart and blood vessel disease)
type 2 diabetes mellitus

At present, you CANNOT gain access to Tirzepatide (or other weight loss drugs) directly from your GP. In line with the rest of England, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside are making access to Tirzepatide available in community/primary care settings this summer to those eligible under the NHS England Commissioning Guidance.

Every patient prescribed Tirzepatide on the NHS is required to take part in a specifically designed ‘wrap-around’ care service, as stipulated under National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, focusing on diet, nutrition and increasing physical activity. Patients cannot be prescribed Tirzepatide if they do not wish to get the wrap-around care support.

NHS Obesity Treatment Information