We’ve spent hundreds on weight-loss injections like Ozempic every month – Keir’s ‘jabs for jobless’ plan isn’t fair on people like us who can barely afford them

Mothers who’ve paid hundreds of pounds for private prescriptions for weight-loss drugs have criticised the Government’s plans to offer Ozempic jabs to the unemployed for free – with one branding Wes Streeting‘s ideas ‘unfair’ and ‘disgusting’. 

Jemma Murphy, a content creator from Solihull, has had to stop Wegovy after losing a stone because she can no longer afford the £189 cost every month. 

The mother-of-three says it’s ‘unfair and disgusting’ that those who aren’t working might get the jabs for free. 

Meanwhile, secretary Hannah Hodgkiss, a mother-of-two from Kent, said that simply being unemployed should not entitled anyone to free jabs that working people struggle to pay for.

She’s stretching herself financially every month to pay £150 for Mounjaro after being diagnosed as pre-diabetic.

The Government this week announced plans to offer the ‘miracle’ weight loss jabs to those who are out of work and struggling with obesity – in a bid to help them get back into work, and ease pressure on the NHS. 

Jemma Murphy, 34, says Wes Streeting’s plans to offer the unemployed weight-loss drugs is ‘unfair’ on hard-working Brits who won’t qualify to get them – Jemma had been paying £189 a month to buy Wegovy but has not stopped because she can’t afford it. Left: Jemma before her weight loss. Right: She’s lost a stone on Wegovy, but can no longer afford the drug

Before (left): A snap of Kent mum-of-two Hannah Hodgekiss, 38, celebrating her youngest child’s fourth birthday – and a warning from the doctor that she was pre-diabetic – saw her start taking the weight loss drug Mounjaro in June, at a cost of around £150 a month. Right: Nearly five months on, and Hannah now weighs 13st 12lbs and says she feels ‘like a better version of herself’

‘If you feel sick, you’re not going to go to work…’ The Government’s plan was given short shrift on social media by some yesterday, including the Instagram account The Weight Loss Club by Soul+Courage

Mr Streeting believes the latest generation of weight-loss medicine could have a ‘monumental’ impact on Britain’s ballooning waistline epidemic and ease the financial burden on the NHS and even boost the economy. 

Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC on Tuesday the drugs could be vital in getting people back to work, saying: ‘I think these drugs could be very important for our economy and for health.’

He added: ‘This drug will be very helpful to people who want to lose weight, need to lose weight, very important for the economy so people can get back into work.

‘Very important for the NHS because, as I’ve said time and again, yes, we need more money for our NHS, but we’ve got to think differently.

‘We’ve got to reduce the pressure on the NHS. So this will help in all of those areas.’ 

However, since the announcement, the plans have been heavily criticised both by those who are paying privately for weight loss treatments such as Ozempic – also known as Wegovy, and Mounjaro, and those who’ve battled the pounds off with willpower and exercise. 

On Instagram yesterday, the account The Weight Loss Club by Soul+Courage posted a scathing response to the news, saying: ‘Here’s how it’s going to go t*** up.’

The video continued: ‘I’m not going to argue with Ozempic’s place in the pharmaceutical industry  – however, what I am going to argue is that it doesn’t last long-term.’

‘Every Ozempic case study shows that a year after stopping taking the jab users regain two thirds of their body weight. It suggests that for it to work properly, people have to stay on the jab, which is obviously a huge cost to the NHS.’

The video also cited the side effects of the drugs, saying they’re likely to be a factor in people returning to the workforce, saying: ‘Chances are if you feel sick, you’re not going to go to work’.  

‘Where is the help for hard-working people?’

Mum-of-three Jemma Murphy, a content creator from Solihull, who can no longer afford to pay for the weight loss drugs she’s been taking, says it’s ‘unfair’ those who aren’t working might get the jabs for free…

The content creator, a mother-of-three from Solihull, has lost more than a stone on Wegovy but fears she’ll now put the weight back on

Jemma Murphy, a 34-year-old content creator from the West Midlands, began taking Wegovy to lose weight in February 2024 – spending £189 per month on the treatment.

She says she stopped taking the drug three weeks ago because she can no longer afford it – and says Labour’s planned rollout of the drug for free is not only ‘unfair’ but ‘dangerous’.

She told MailOnline: ‘I think if they’re going to give this to those who are unemployed, then it should also be extended to anybody else struggling to lose weight.’

Jemma says ‘unemployed people will believe that their worth is defined by how skinny they are’ if the plans go ahead 

A mummy makeover in 2021 saw Jemma lose weight, but she says she decided to start taking Wegovy this year after an illness saw her pile the pounds back on – the results have been dramatic, she says

She adds: ‘I can’t afford it at the moment but I would still be taking it if I could. 

‘The Government’s decision is coming across as quite vain and dramatic. And I think it will make unemployed people believe that their worth is defined by how skinny they are.

‘I also want to know: where is the help for hard-working people?’

Jemma has previously hit the headlines after revealing how she was left with 5.5lbs of excess skin following the birth of her three children, 11, nine and six.

‘Miserable’ with the appearance of her body, she splashed out £12,000 on a ‘mummy makeover’ in May 2021 to rid her body of the loose skin.

But after falling ill earlier this year, she noticed her weight had increased once more. Before starting Wegovy, she weighed 12st 6lbs, and was a UK dress size 12. Now, she’s 11st 6lbs and wears a UK dress size 10.

The mother-of-three says she’s devastated that she can no longer afford to pay to take the drug, which she says has had a huge positive impact on her life

Jemma is currently a dress size ten, but fears she’ll put the weight back on now she’s stopped taking Wegovy

In a bid to get back to her post-surgery body, she contacted her pharmacist about trying Wegovy.

Wegovy is a brand name for semaglutide, which is used to manage obesity and other health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.

She said: ‘I lost a stone in around seven months and I wanted to keep going with the jab, but it was just so expensive.

‘I know a lot of people find the jabs to be a quick-win solution but I’m mum to three young children. Losing weight isn’t as easy as people think.

‘I found it difficult to fit in exercise and meal planning alongside working and tending to the kids, so I thought this would be the best option.

‘I wasn’t worried about anything else other than having to administer a needle myself. I thought the weight would fly off but it does require some effort alongside it, and it’s definitely not an easy way out.

‘I’m so glad I have done it – but I wish I could’ve tried it for longer to see some better results. I feel upset that I’m not able to continue due to the cost.

‘To then see the health secretary offer this for free to people who aren’t employed as a method to get them into work… it’s disgusting.’

While Labour appear in favour of the controversial rollout, Jemma urges the Prime Minister and his cabinet to consider the potential consequences.

And how they are leaving many Brits in need out of the equation altogether.

She added: ‘I don’t understand how a person looks will affect how well they get on in a job – or their ability to find work.

‘It’s going to cost the NHS so much to offer these jabs and I really don’t think it’s fair for the government to make that correlation.

Jemma continued: ‘People are unemployed for many reasons, mental health or disabilities for example, and to decide that everyone without a job is overweight is a very broad assumption.

‘I believe there is a risk that this could increase eating disorders and a rise in mental health issues. And what happens if they get a job straight away? Do the jabs just stop? I don’t agree with this in the slightest.’

‘There needs to be a strict criteria if the Government is going to roll this out – not just giving it to everyone…’

Secretary Hannah Hodgkiss, a mother-of-two from Kent, says she’s stretching herself financially every month to pay £150 for Mounjaro – after being diagnosed as pre-diabetic… 

Secretary Hannah, who’s 5’7 weighed in at 18 stone, and decided to pay for the jabs, which she says have been a stretch for her family to pay for

Mother-of-two Hannah, who says she’s struggled with her weight her whole life, has been taking Mounjaro since June – and has lost over four stone in the weeks since. 

Is the Government right to hand out weight loss drugs to those out of work? ‘It all depends on how obese people are. Are they so obese that they’re unable to leave the house? If yes, then I can see it could be very beneficial and could take a massive strain off the NHS – that’s a good thing.’

But is it annoying that people who are in a similar position health-wise to herself might not have to pay for the drugs at all? 

‘Of course it’s annoying. They need to have a criteria if the Government are going to roll it out – not just giving it to people, and making sure there’s other help available in terms of exercise and controlling eating.’

She says people should understand that weight loss jabs aren’t a quick fix, and people should be aware of the effort required to get a positive result. 

‘It’s not just the drugs that help you lose the weight – you’ve got to put in the work and do things that go alongside it – the drugs, to me, feel like an assistant to weight loss.’ 

After being diagnosed as pre-diabetic before starting on the drug Mounjaro, Hannah was walking 10,000 steps a day and following a calorie-controlled diet but says ‘sometimes I would get a bad reading on the scales and I would think “I’m going to have a binge”‘. 

A ‘wake up call’ came around a year after the birth of her second child, when a blood test diagnosed her as pre-diabetic – and a photo of her marking her eldest child’s fourth birthday shocked her.

Hannah says the ‘thought of not being there’ for her children later in life propelled her to take action but she knew she would have to become ‘full blown diabetic’ to access any weight loss drugs on the NHS. 

Not a quick fix: The secretary says weight loss drugs can help but the Government’s plans need to take into account the support – including exercise and healthy habits – that need to be factored in to

To buy Mounjaro, which she’s spending around £150-a-month on, she contacted online pharmacy MedExpress, and had to follow a rigorous process to ensure she was eligible to take the drug. 

In the nearly five months that she’s been on it, Hannah, who’s 5′ 7, has seen her weight drop from 18stone to 13stone 12lbs.

‘I feel like a lighter, better version of myself. The whole food noise has gone – before I would always be thinking “what can I eat next?”‘. 

She says she’s more active, has seen her running pace increase and will happily follow her children into soft play climbing enclosures, something she was hesitant about before.  

Hannah’s appetite hasn’t completely gone either, she still enjoys her meals but says her portions are now firmly in control. 

Side effects have been minimal, she says, with the occasional feeling of nausea but nothing that would prevent her from staying on the drug. 

She’s hopeful that Mounjaro is helping her form new habits that she can keep when she eventually weans herself off Mounjaro – admitting that paying £1,800 a year to keep taking it is a financial ‘stretch’ and something she doesn’t want to do long-term. 

‘I probably will put on a bit of weight when I come off it, but there’s no way I’ll put it all back on’.