Weight Management Services Update for 2026/27

NHS England are making a series of refinements to the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) for 2026/27 to strengthen alignment with updated NICE guidance and support more clinically effective care. The Obesity Enhanced Service will be retired, in favour of two new obesity related indicators to support referrals into structured weight management programmes and delivering weight loss injections as shown in the table below. The exact QOF indicators will be released in due course.

The OB004 indicator is to promote consistent identification of adults living with obesity using clinically appropriate thresholds, including ethnicity-adjusted criteria where relevant, and to ensure timely access to structured weight management support following assessment in primary care. The aim is to enable earlier intervention before progression to pharmacotherapy, improving outcomes and reducing long-term system costs. It operationalises NICE guidelines NG246 (Obesity: identification, assessment and management), which states that all adults living with obesity should be offered a structured behavioural intervention, and aligns with NICE Quality Standard QS212 on the prevention, behavioural management, assessment and treatment of overweight, obesity and central adiposity in adults.

Funding and specialist weight management services

The current management costs received by the ICB which is funding the specialist weight management services on behalf of primary care will be shifted by NHS England to support these new QOF indicators from the 1^st of April 2026. To provide support to GP practices, NEL ICB are currently working with the specialist weight management services to determine how weight management care can be locally coordinated from this date.

NEL ICB appreciates this change may cause uncertainty for practices but the ICB is working to provide more information and clarity as soon as possible in terms of how local services will change in response to this.