How does the weight management service work?

If you want to learn more about how our weight management service works, this guide goes through the details of what you should expect and prepare for before booking a consultation.

1. Checking you're eligible for weight loss treatment

Our weight management service is for adults with a BMI of 30 kg/m² or more (with obesity) or a BMI between 27 kg/m² and 30 kg/m² (overweight) and weight-related health problems such as heart problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and prediabetes.

Find out your BMI here

Lady reading a weight management leaflet at a Rowlands Pharmacy

2. Your Initial Consultation

i: Booking a consultation

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You have two options when booking a consultation:

At your nearest Rowlands Pharmacy
Online via a video call with one of our online pharmacy team members

Before you can book your slot, you must complete our quick questionnaire to determine if this service is right for you.

The questionnaire will determine your eligibility for an initial consultation, but it does not necessarily mean you are suitable for treatment.

ii: Preparing for your consultation

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Please read the below carefully to ensure you are well-prepared for your initial consultation. Our consultations take approximately 30 minutes. If you and your pharmacist are unable to get through everything in the allotted time, a follow-up consultation will be arranged.

Healthcare providers are duty-bound to verify patients' identities before prescribing medication. We’ll check your identity against one of the following documents to prove who you are.

Passport
Driving Licence (full or provisional)
National Identity Card

Your pharmacist will ask to see your weight during your consultation; therefore you will need to step on scales.

Online Consultation Requirements

If you are booking an online consultation, you will receive an email with a booking link from HasHealth.

You will require a good internet connection and a mobile device with a good enough camera quality for our pharmacist to see you properly take readings of your scales. Please avoid wearing heavy clothing such as hoodies and baggy trousers as they could interfere with your results.

iii: What to expect during your consultation

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Your pharmacist will ask you questions about your physical health, mental health, lifestyle, and why you feel you need treatment for your weight loss. Please make sure your answers are honest, clear, and to the point so that your pharmacist can get through as much information as possible in the 30 minutes you have.

If you are deemed suitable for treatment, your pharmacist will discuss the different options and give you a tutorial on the weight loss injections.

Read more about our weekly weight loss injections via the information pages below:

Wegovy

Mounjaro

Here is a quick overview of the differences between the treatments:

	Mounjaro	Wegovy
Active Ingredient	Tirzepatide	Semaglutide
Price (per month)	From £169	From £134
How much weight could I lose?	Potential to lose up to 20% of your body weight in 72 weeks	Potential to lose 15% of your body weight in 68 weeks
How often do you take it?	Once a week at the same time	Once a week at the same time
Prescription-only?	Yes	Yes

Payment

Once deemed eligible, you will make your payment, and your treatment will be sent to you via Royal Mail.

3. Taking your weight loss treatment

Our weight loss treatment is self-administered. The best injection sites are your tummy, front of your thigh, or upper arm. Your pharmacist will discuss this with you in more detail.

If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible within five days of the scheduled time. If more than five days have passed, skip the missed dose and take the next one on your regular schedule. Make sure you tell your pharmacist if you miss any doses.

A line chart showing the effectiveness of weight loss treatment

4. Check-ups with your pharmacist

During your treatment, you will have regular checkups with your pharmacist to track your progress and weight maintenance so that they can determine whether the treatment is working for you and increase your dosage when necessary. This is usually after every four weeks. We aim to have you lose at least 5% of your body weight after six months of treatment.

5. What you can do

Whilst on treatment, you will be expected to improve your diet and fitness routines to get the best results, this can include:

Introducing a high-fibre diet
Starting a 500-calorie deficit
A 35% calorie reduction target
Halving meal sizes
Drinking at least two litres of water a day to avoid kidney stones and gallstones
Doing regular exercise

Overview:

Do	Don’t
Have a photographic ID at hand	Wear bulky or baggy clothes
Have your repeat prescription list to hand	Give your medication to another person to use
Ensure there is sufficient lighting in the room you are in (Online)
A device with a good signal and camera quality (Online)