Latest news with #Powis
Perth Now
13-06-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Weight loss jabs could be dished out like statins
Weight loss injections could be handed out like statins. Professor Sir Stephen Powis, a medical director of NHS England, thinks the jabs will become cheaper in the future, and they will be used to lower people's risks of getting an illness. His belief comes as it was recently revealed that weight loss jabs could cut the risk of obesity-related cancers. Experts in Israel analysed data from 6,356 people - with around half of the volunteers having had bariatric surgery, which modifies the digestive system to lower food intake, and the rest took slimming jabs - and after an average follow-up of 7.5 years, 298 patients were found to have had obesity-related cancers. Weight-loss jabs, or GLP-1-based medicines, such as tirzepatide - act like the glucose hormone GLP-1 by decreasing appetite and increasing feelings of fullness. And researchers, who presented the findings - which are in the journal eClinicalMedicine - at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, Spain, said "new generation, highly potent GLP1-RAs with higher efficacy in weight reduction" such as Wegovy, can produce could result in an "even greater advantage" of reducing obesity-related cancers. Prof Powis told The Sun newspaper: "I think, over time, it's highly likely they will become more widespread. "I think there will be a combination of increased evidence of positive outcomes and cost dropping."
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Weight-loss jabs could soon be among most commonly used NHS drugs, top doctor says
Weight-loss jabs could soon become among the most commonly used drugs, the NHS's top doctor has said. Professor Sir Stephen Powis said cheaper versions of the jabs, such as Mounjaro, could lead to widespread use and be as transformative as statins - one of the most highly prescribed drugs taken by around 7 million people in the UK. His comments come as the NHS prepares to roll out access to Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, in GP practices. Prof Powis told the NHS ConfedExpo conference the NHS needs to go 'further and faster' to 'turn the tide' on rising levels of obesity and said the drugs could one day be accessed in pharmacies. The outgoing medical director of NHS England told reporters the weight-loss jabs could also be targeted at patients waiting for operations who cannot have them due to their weight. But the government's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, warned the jabs would not be a 'get out of jail card' for public and social health measures. He told the conference: 'They're not a get out of jail card, which means we don't have to do other social things. It is unacceptable, for example, to be advertising obviously obesogenic foods to young children, on the basis of subsequently they might be able to have jabs to undo the damage which will otherwise be lifelong.' An estimated 1.5 million are taking weight loss jabs in the UK. The Independent recently reported on a case of a woman who was refused a hip operation due to her weight, who had been forced to pay privately for the jabs as she struggled to access them through the NHS. Later this month, GPs in England will be allowed to prescribe Mounjaro for the first time. Patients previously needed to access the drugs through a special weight loss service. Prof Powis hailed the rollout in GP surgeries as an 'exciting milestone' and said NHS officials are also examining ways to 'broaden access to the drugs', such as through pharmacies and digital services. Around 29 per cent of adults in the UK are obese. Prof Powis said: 'Right now, obesity is estimated to cost the NHS approximately £11.4 billion every year – this financial burden is unsustainable for the NHS and wider economy. 'We have to turn the tide. We have to and will go further, and faster. 'In just a few years from now, some of today's weight loss drugs will be available at much lower cost. This could completely transform access to these innovative treatments. He said eventually there would be more drugs coming onto the market, which means prices would likely fall. He said: 'We have been through this with statins, and the use of statins is now very different from when they first came out, and I've no doubt that will be the same for these drugs.' 'So I think over time it's highly likely that they will become more widespread, the evidence base will increase, we will learn better how to deploy them, we'll learn how long people need to be on them, and in terms of weight reduction, how much weight reduction is maintained once people come off – that's a big unknown,' he said. But he said he was not 'starry-eyed' about weight loss drugs, adding they are 'no silver bullet'. He told reporters: 'These medicines can be harmful if they are prescribed without the right checks and wraparound care – they can have side effects, including nausea, dehydration and inflammation of the pancreas, and a worrying number of people are continuing to access them without appropriate checks via the internet. Around 220,000 people are expected to benefit from the rollout of jabs at GP services over the next three years.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Miliband warned carbon capture project faces collapse without £4bn injection
A green technology project pioneered by Ed Miliband faces collapse without an additional £4bn in funding, industry chiefs have warned. Olivia Powis, the chief executive of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, said the fledgling technology must receive support from Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, at her spending review on Wednesday despite having been recently awarded almost £22bn in public subsidies. It wants the money – funded by consumers and taxpayers – to expand the two carbon-capture projects already approved by Mr Miliband, the Energy Secretary, and to kick-start two more, including one in Scotland. Ms Powis said there was a 'critical need' for further funding commitments from the Government. She warned that, without the extra cash, even the two schemes approved by Mr Miliband may never go ahead. She added: 'The UK supply chain is ready to respond with the skills, innovation and capabilities needed to make UK carbon capture a world-leading industry. 'But continued government commitment and a pipeline of future projects is essential to ensure that domestic suppliers can compete, scale up and create lasting jobs across the country – otherwise we will see investors and this industry go overseas.' Approving the initial £21.7bn last autumn, Ms Reeves described it as a 'game-changing technology [that] will bring 4,000 good jobs and billions of private investment into communities across Merseyside and Teesside'. However, MPs have warned that the technology is 'unproven' and 'high-risk'. Jeremy Pocklington, the permanent secretary at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, told the public accounts committee last December that 75pc of the money to fund carbon capture would come from levies on consumer and business energy bills and the rest from taxes. Experts warn that CO2 capture may only be 50 to 60pc efficient, meaning some CO2 still enters the atmosphere. Projects backed by the Government so far include the HyNet scheme in Merseyside and Net Zero Teesside, for which contracts were signed last year. The industry wants cash to expand those projects and add another two: the Acorn project on Scotland's east coast and the Viking project based in the Humber. Mr Powis said: 'We estimate this new industry will create 50,000 new highly skilled jobs and retain another 50,000 jobs in existing industries like steel. 'It will contribute to new industries like sustainable aviation fuels, and generate a cumulative £94bn in value for the economy by 2050.' But Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said the policy would add to consumer bills and do little for the environment. He said: 'We should scrap this technology. This is an outrageous demands for unproven technology that will make zero difference to climate change. Even the Greens reject it.' Carla Denyer MP, co-leader of the Green Party, added: 'Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is being used as green-wash by the fossil fuel industry, allowing them to continue extracting coal, oil and gas. 'This technology is a distraction from what we should be focusing on, namely, boosting renewable energy and storage, energy efficiency and home insulation programmes and working with nature and land managers to capture carbon naturally.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
06-03-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
NHS chief to step down days after boss's resignation
The most senior doctor in the NHS is to step down just days after the chief executive announced her resignation. Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England's national medical director, will leave the job this summer, adding to the void at the top of the health service. It comes a week after Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said she would quit following meetings with Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, who has made it clear that he wants greater control of the health service's operations. Prof Powis, 64, handed in his resignation to Ms Pritchard in January and will continue in the role until the start of July, when he is expected to retire. It is understood that the decision had been many months in the making and comes separately from Ms Pritchard's surprise decision to leave the top NHS job last week. Prof Powis has been the NHS's top doctor for almost eight years and became one of the key public figures during the Covid-19 pandemic as he attended dozens of Downing Street press conferences alongside Sir Chris Whitty, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
