‘Absolutely ludicrous!’ Question Time woman blasts Labour ‘quick fix’ on weight-loss jabs_l
Labour needs to stop blaming the last government and get on with fixing the NHS, a furious Question Time audience member says.
A furious Question Time audience member whose brother died of cancer has blasted Wes Streeting‘s suggestion giving weight-loss jabs to obese people could ease the burden on the NHS.
This week’s programme comes from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, with guests including former Tory MP Damian Green, political commentator Ash Sarkar and Minister for Trade Policy Douglas Alexander.
In response to a question over whether a weight-loss jab could fix Britain’s obesity crisis, a woman in the Question Time audience said there was no “quick fix” and revealed her sibling died of cancer two years ago at the age of 44.
She said: “I work in mental health and if I told my patients that they’re obese and need a weight-loss drug – I think it’s absolutely ludicrous.
“Who’s gonna monitor the side effects of these drugs because we know research is out there. This is a new drug and they’ve still not managed to research the side effects of these drugs.
“… There’s other ways of reducing obesity and… you’ve not put a lot of thought into this. It’s not a quick fix. This is not Labour saying just put a plaster on this, hoping this problem will go away.”
The woman slammed Labour for entering Downing Street and blaming the former government instead of acting on the NHS.
She said: “You need to start thinking about what is [the] priority. The NHS is at boiling point. Staff morale is so low, it’s the lowest it’s ever been. When are you gonna be recognising that? When are you gonna be putting money into NHS services, cancer treatment. You’ve got a massive waiting list…
“I’m absolutely disgusted that I’m sitting here and I’m still raising the fact that you really need to get your act together. People have voted Labour … You need to start thinking and stop blaming each other.
“You just come in and looked at [the NHS] and said, ‘Ah well, it was the Conservatives that made that decision’. Stop blaming each other and start getting your act together.”
Mr Alexander expressed his condolences, and agreed that the health service is in “really bad shape”, adding: “We’ve been in office for almost 14 weeks after 14 years where we would say the health service has been really badly run.
“I’m unyielding in my admiration for the work that [NHS] staff have done in really difficult conditions.”
He said Labour needs to deliver on its manifesto pledge to 40,000 extra appointments every week and he hoped the NHS would be prioritised in the Budget.
Mr Alexander said: “I’m afraid the tragic experience your family has encountered is far, far too common an experience in the health service today and we’re working night and day to fix that.”
The Health Secretary said earlier this week that “widening waistbands” were placing a burden on the NHS, adding that the latest generation of weight-loss medicine, such as Mounjaro, could be administered to people in order to get them back into employment and to ease costs on the health service.
Mr Green said those who can should exercise more, eat less and be encouraged to do so. He added: “That would be a lot better for them and for the NHS obviously.”
Douglas Alexander says the NHS needs to be a priority in the Budget (Image: BBC)
The former Tory deputy prime minister said it was “really important” to address Britain’s food system and make it easier for people to buy and eat healthy food.
In a third point, Mr Green said: “Medicalising this problem, i.e. giving people injections on the NHS, should be the last resort, partly because as somebody said, we don’t yet know – these drugs haven’t been around long enough for us to know what effect they will have if you have to take them year after year.”
Under Labour’s plan, announced at an international investment summit, real-world trials of weight-loss jabs’ impact on worklessness will be conducted.
A study by Health Innovation Manchester and Lilly will examine whether being put on the drugs will reduce worklessness and the impact on NHS service use. It will take place in Greater Manchester.
Ms Sarkar told Question Time whether or not to have a weight-loss jab should be a decision made between an individual and their doctor.
She warned: “What worries me is that it’s being seen as a sort of arm of the Department of Work and Pensions and I think that’s wholly inappropriate. It’s a healthcare decision. It shouldn’t be a DWP decision.”
