The importance of regulated prescribing, clinical oversight and ongoing patient monitoring for GLP-1 weight loss treatments is the focus of a patient safety campaign launched by The Care Pharmacy.
The team at The Care Pharmacy in Bradford said they have started the campaign after seeing an increase in customers offered the medication through online channels and street dealers and also heard of attempts to source or sell unregulated products.
The pharmacy’s campaign, “Weight Loss: Real Medicine. Real Care. Real Safety”, is designed to raise awareness of the importance of accessing treatment only through regulated pharmacies and qualified healthcare professionals.
Mohammed Ismail Lakhi, owner of The Care Pharmacy said: “We want patients to know that health advice around weight loss medication should come from healthcare professionals and not social media algorithms.”
Care Pharmacy is an NHS registered pharmacy with branches in Bradford and Low Moor, also offering an online service for weight loss treatment, with services delivered by pharmacists and dieticians.
The prescribing process includes proof of weight and BMI verification, detailed medical questionnaires, prescribing oversight, GP record cross-checking and monthly follow-up reviews.
Lakhi said: “Responsible prescribing is about far more than supplying medication. Patients require suitability assessments, ongoing monitoring, education around side effects and long-term support.”
The Care Pharmacy team said that demand for weight loss has increased rapidly over the past two years, but concerns around unsafe products have escalated.
With prices increasing, the team said that patient demand is being influenced by pricing pressures and misinformation online, along with “a rising demand for cheaper black-market alternatives”.
“Regulation exists to protect patients,” Lakhi added. “Professional care matters at every stage of treatment. If a provider is bypassing medical checks, they are bypassing patient safety.”
The Care Pharmacy is urging anyone offered weight loss medication outside regulated healthcare settings to report the matter to police.
The pharmacy team is also encouraging healthcare professionals across the sector to continue promoting responsible prescribing standards and to report any suspected illegal supply.
Earlier this month, Public health minister Sharon Hodgson told Parliament that restricted access to weight loss medication was driving people towards the black market and advised the public to use registered community or online pharmacies.
