Fewer than 800 people in Scotland have received weight loss injections on the NHS, despite the medications Mounjaro and Wegovy being approved for this purpose in 2023 and 2024 respectively. BBC News found that a total of 705 patients had received these injections for weight loss by September 2026.
Only five of Scotland's 14 health boards currently offer the treatment specifically for weight loss, and these are part of small pilot schemes. These boards include NHS Forth Valley, NHS Borders, NHS Lothian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Western Isles, and the NHS State Hospital. The remaining nine health boards do not routinely prescribe the drugs for weight loss, though some are exploring introducing access.
Leading doctors have described the limited NHS access as "discriminatory" and suggest it is widening health inequalities. While NHS provision remains low, private prescriptions for Wegovy and Mounjaro have reportedly increased, with one company estimating at least 300,000 people are accessing the drugs privately.
The Scottish government stated that these medicines are part of a range of obesity treatments, with individual health boards responsible for decisions on their availability. A third of Scots are classified as obese, which can lead to serious health complications.