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Can my GP prescribe Wegovy?

GLP Guidebook teamUpdated 12 Oct 202612 sourcesWritten from published sources
The short answer

Not usually, for weight loss on the NHS. NICE guidance in England limits Wegovy (semaglutide) for weight to specialist weight management services, for up to 2 years. Since May 2026, a separate NICE route covers adults with heart disease and a BMI of 27 or more, without naming a setting. Private prescribers can prescribe within the UK licence.

Before you go further

Why can't a GP prescribe Wegovy for weight on the NHS?

NICE recommends Wegovy for weight only within a specialist weight management service, a team of several kinds of professionals, and for at most 2 years.

NICE also requires at least 1 weight-related condition and a BMI of 35 or more. A BMI of 30 to 34.9 counts if you meet the criteria for referral to specialist services. Thresholds are usually 2.5 lower for South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean backgrounds.2

NICE says to consider stopping if you lose less than 5% of your starting weight in 6 months.2 One London ICB, a local NHS body, says Wegovy "currently remains through specialist weight management services". Local criteria apply.3 In England, GPs can prescribe Mounjaro for some people instead; see Can I get Mounjaro on the NHS?

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What is the heart-disease route to Wegovy?

Since 7 May 2026, NICE allows Wegovy to lower heart attack and stroke risk in adults with heart disease and a BMI of 27 or more.4

Heart disease here means a previous heart attack or stroke, or narrowed leg arteries causing symptoms (peripheral arterial disease). The NHS in England must fund it within 90 days. NICE says the guidance "does not specify which setting semaglutide should be used in".4

Scotland accepted the same use on 8 June 2026.5 The full NHS picture for Wegovy is in Wegovy on the NHS.

What about the other nations and private prescriptions?

Outside England the NHS also keeps Wegovy for weight in specialist services, and in April 2025 Northern Ireland had no such service at all.

  • Scotland: accepted for a BMI of 30 or more with a weight-related condition, treated in a specialist service.6
  • Wales: semaglutide for weight loss should only be prescribed through specialist services for now.7
  • Northern Ireland: not available on the Health Service in April 2025.8 A new obesity service was due in autumn 2026.9

Privately, a healthcare professional must consult you before prescribing.1 The UK licence covers a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 to 30 with a weight-related condition.10 What to ask is in Guide 6.

RisksThe risks, in brief
  • Stomach effects are very common. Over 68 weeks, 44 in 100 people on Wegovy 2.4 mg felt sick (nausea), against 16 in 100 on a dummy injection, on the UK Wegovy label.11
  • Gallstones are common (1 in 10 to 1 in 100) and a swollen pancreas (acute pancreatitis) is uncommon (1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000) on the UK Wegovy label. The MHRA strengthened the pancreatitis warning in January 2026.11,12
  • Pregnancy. The MHRA says to stop semaglutide, the medicine in Wegovy, at least 2 months before trying for a baby.1
  • Operations. Tell your anaesthetist you take it, because it slows how fast your stomach empties.1
Full detail in Guide 5: Side effects and risks →

Read the full picture

Related questions

Can I get Mounjaro on the NHS? How much is Wegovy in the UK? Is the Wegovy pill available in the UK? Can I get Ozempic for weight loss in the UK? What BMI do you need for Mounjaro in the UK?
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Sources

  1. MHRA. GLP-1 medicines for weight loss and diabetes: what you need to know. Guidance, published 5 Jun 2025, last updated 5 Feb 2026. gov.uk
  2. NICE. Semaglutide for managing overweight and obesity (TA875), recommendations 1.1 and 1.2. Published 8 Mar 2023. nice.org.uk
  3. NHS South West London Integrated Care Board. Prescribing weight loss medications in south west London: tirzepatide (Mounjaro). Page updated 30 Jul 2026. southwestlondon.icb.nhs.uk
  4. NICE. Semaglutide for reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in people with cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity (TA1152), recommendation 1.1 and "What this means in practice". Published 7 May 2026. nice.org.uk
  5. Scottish Medicines Consortium. Semaglutide (Wegovy) SMC2872: accepted to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with established cardiovascular disease and BMI ≥27 kg/m2. Advice published 8 Jun 2026. scottishmedicines.org.uk
  6. Scottish Medicines Consortium. Semaglutide (Wegovy) SMC2497: restriction "BMI of ≥30kg/m2* in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbidity. Patients should be treated in a specialist weight management service." Advice published 9 Oct 2023. scottishmedicines.org.uk
  7. Welsh Government. New clinical pathway for treating and managing obesity (WHC/2025/043): "tirzepatide, semaglutide and liraglutide, for weight loss should only be prescribed through specialist weight management services in the NHS in Wales", with listed exceptions. First published 23 Oct 2025, last updated 7 Jul 2026. gov.wales
  8. Northern Ireland Formulary (HSC). Patient information leaflet: Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for obesity, April 2025: "not currently available through the Health Service in Northern Ireland for the treatment of obesity"; Wegovy and Saxenda "not yet available" because NI "does NOT currently have such a specialist weight management service"; "GPs cannot take over prescribing on the Health Service". niformulary.hscni.net (PDF)
  9. Department of Health (Northern Ireland). Health Minister announces first phase of NI's first Obesity Management Service, 29 Jun 2026: rollout "expected… in early Autumn 2026"; phase one "for adults aged 18 and over with a BMI above 45 and at least one" listed condition. health-ni.gov.uk
  10. NICE. TA875, section 2: marketing authorisation (2.1); list price of Wegovy "2.4 mg is £175.80 per pack, of 1.7 mg is £124.53 per pack, and of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg is £73.25 per pack (excluding VAT; company communication). Each pack contains 1 pen that delivers 4 doses" (2.3); confidential NHS discount (2.4). Published 8 Mar 2023. nice.org.uk
  11. Novo Nordisk. Wegovy FlexTouch summary of product characteristics (UK SmPC), date of revision 09/2026, sections 4.2 and 4.8 (Table 3). UK label. medicines.org.uk (emc)
  12. MHRA. MHRA updates guidance for GLP-1 prescribers and patients (acute pancreatitis). Press release, 29 Jan 2026. gov.uk

Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due 12 Apr 2027 · Report an error

How this answer was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above, all checked on 12 Oct 2026. Prices are official list prices or NHS charges, never a seller's price, and we don't name or rank sellers. Figures marked as our arithmetic are worked out from those sources. It's general information, not medical advice. Talk to a GP, pharmacist or other qualified prescriber before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. How we write