Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to encourage an increase in GP referrals to medical weight loss clinics.
The government has invested £20.4 million in the Weight Management Enhanced Service in 2021/22, which supports general practitioners (GPs) to refer individuals to Weight Management Services. The Department have published training for primary care staff to become Healthy Weight Coaches, who facilitate conversations about weight, signpost and refer people to services, and offer support. We are also working closely with the Royal College of General Practitioners to understand how to further support GP referrals to weight management services.