Practice News

📢 Important Update: Availability of Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for Weight Management

NHS England is introducing tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for weight management as part of a phased national rollout. According to NICE guidelines, patients must be referred to a diet and exercise support programme alongside any prescription of this medication. This programme is known as the Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing (BSOP).

⚠️ Not Yet Available in Kent & Medway

Although tirzepatide is expected to become available in primary care from Monday 23rd June for certain eligible patients, this is dependent on the availability of the BSOP service, which has not yet been commissioned in Kent and Medway.

Until this service is in place:

• GPs in our area are not able to prescribe tirzepatide (Mounjaro).

• Tirzepatide is not available under the Right to Choose scheme.

We understand that patients may be eager to access this new treatment, but we kindly ask that you do not book a GP appointment to discuss tirzepatide at this time.

Please check the following website for regular updates:
🔗Update on availability of Mounjaro (tirzepatide) to support weight loss :: Kent & Medway ICS

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Love Your Cervix

Published on 20th Jun 2025

Warm Homes Healthy Futures

What is Warm Homes, Healthy Futures?
The aim of Warm Homes, Healthy Futures is to provide energy advice and support ‘on prescription’ to vulnerable people living with a health condition or disability that’s made worse by living in a cold, damp, poor quality home. People can be supported with:
• Bespoke advice and support with their energy bills, suppliers, and energy saving
• Benefit checks, income maximisation and claim support
• Servicing of boilers and gas appliances
• Signup to the Priority Services Register
• Carbon monoxide awareness
• Support accessing crisis support that might be available, for example fuel vouchers
• Support accessing grants for repair and replacement boilers and other household measures such as insulation

Who is delivering it? 
National Energy Action (NEA) is a national charity working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure that everyone can afford to live in a warm, safe and healthy home. NEA has been around for more than forty years and has worked on the delivery of many heathfocused referral projects. We and our partners know how significant this type of support can be to people who have a health condition, are vulnerable to the cold, and struggling to manage their energy bills. NEA is pleased to be working with a wide network of health partners and other key local agencies in more than twenty areas across Great Britain. The programme is funded by the Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance fund and is supported by the Gas Distribution Networks, Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, SGN and Wales and West Utilities. 

Referrals are being taken now and the programme will run until March 2026.

How does the programme work?
The project is intended to support individuals who are living with a health condition or disability that is made worse by living in a cold, damp, poor quality home, and struggling to afford the cost of their energy bills.

If you identify clients or patients that could benefit from support with this issue, then please 
make a referral via the dedicated Warm Homes, Healthy Futures secure online referral form: 
https://www.nea.org.uk/whhf-energy/

NEA’s expert and dedicated advisers will then make contact with that person to discuss how we 
can best provide help and support. We’ll try to reach to them by phone and text message (as well 
as email if they have provided an email address and are happy to communicate this way).

For questions or further information please contact: healthyfutures@nea.org.uk

Feeling Good App

We are excited to be sharing a fantastic digital solution for improving mental health and wellbeing that our PCN has been selected to be trialling.

The app is audio, simple and effective for depression, anxiety and sleep

The Feeling Good App contains the evidence-based audio programme Feeling Good for Life, which is the new name for Positive Mental Training, a series of 12 audio tracks to help you build essential skills, not only to deal with mental stresses and strains, but to bounce forwards and become mentally stronger and more resilient.  There are other modules on the app, all contain the same beginning tracks from Feeling Good for Life.

 This programme can help relax & calm your mind and body, lift your mood, help you feel more positive, let go of worries, sleep better and deal with stresses more easily. It can also help with physical symptoms of stress, such as headaches, irritable bowel, fatigue, and chronic pain. It can improve your ability to focus on a task, to feel positive about yourself when talking to others, to perform at your best when you need to.

Click here for more information.

Better care Support

Kent County Council has launched BetterCare Support - an online self-assessment tool, to enable people to live independently and safely within their communities and home. By answering questions about their social care needs, the tool provides people with information, advice, and guidance about the options and services available to them.

You can find other online resources below.

·         Social care and health - Kent County Council

·         Financial calculator

·         Kent Connect to Support

·         Kent PA Web

·         Adult social care and health procedures, practice guidance and tools