NHS Western Isles prescribes weight loss medication at highest rate in Scotland

A new industry report has revealed significant variation in how Scottish health boards prescribe newly approved medicines, with weight loss drugs showing the largest regional disparity. The BBC reported that the analysis examined national healthcare prescribing patterns across all Scottish health boards between September 2020 and August 2025. [1][2]

The report was compiled by the body that represents pharmaceutical companies in order to compare access to treatments approved by the Scottish Medicines Consortium. The study focused on GLP-1 medications, which have been cleared as safe and cost effective for use on the health service. The BBC reported that these medicines exhibited substantial geographic variation across the country. [1]

When measuring the three-month average quantity of GLP-1 drugs prescribed per head of population from June to August 2025, NHS Western Isles recorded the highest rate in Scotland at 1,086.54. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde followed behind NHS Western Isles in the findings detailed by the BBC. [1]

NHS Western Isles is one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland and provides primary and secondary healthcare to 26,000 residents in the Outer Hebrides. The health board employs more than 1,000 staff members. [3]