Tirzepatide is a once-weekly injection that works by mimicking natural hormones to reduce appetite and improve blood sugar control. When used alongside diet and physical activity, it can also lead to significant weight loss.

It is only prescribed as part of a wider programme supporting people with healthy nutrition and physical activity for long-term health benefits.

In the first phase of the national rollout, access is limited to patients with the highest level of clinical need. You may be eligible if you:

• Have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40 or more (adjusted for ethnicity) [1], and
• Have four or more of the following health conditions:
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol or abnormal blood fats
• Sleep apnoea
• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes

These criteria have been defined nationally to ensure the NHS can offer this treatment safely and equitably. Over 3 million people may meet the broader NICE eligibility, so access is being carefully phased.

[1] or a lower threshold, usually reduced by 2.5 kg/m2, for people from South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean ethnic backgrounds

In Norfolk and Waveney, the Integrated Care Board (ICB) has decided to commission a community-based service to support prescribing of tirzepatide for eligible patients.

This approach ensures safe, consistent access across all areas, avoids placing additional workload on already stretched GP practices, and aligns with national guidance and equity principles.

Your GP may still offer tirzepatide if they are ready and resourced to do so. However, not all GP practices will be offering this treatment at this stage.

We expect the new community-based service to be available later in 2025. Updates will be shared on this page.

• Do not contact your GP just to request a prescription.
• Instead, check if your practice is currently prescribing tirzepatide via their website.
• If not, your GP may advise you to wait until the community-based service is available or may suggest other suitable weight management services in the meantime.

Please check this web page for regular updates on service availability and eligibility rules, rather than contacting GP practices directly. This helps GPs focus their time on patient care.

If you are already being prescribed tirzepatide privately and meet the NHS eligibility criteria, you may be referred to the NHS service in future. However, this will only be possible once the community-based service is fully operational and cannot be arranged via your GP in the meantime.

Tirzepatide is one of several support options. You may also benefit from:

• NHS Digital Weight Management Programme
• NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme
• NHS Couch to 5K
• NHS Food Scanner App
• NHS Weight Loss Plan

This is an evolving programme. Please return to this page for updates on:

• Who can access tirzepatide
• When the new community-based service goes live
• How to seek referral or support