Nurse dies after taking new NHS weight loss jab in first confirmed fatality linked to obesity drugs

A nurse has tragically died after receiving a weight loss injection in what is believed to be the first confirmed fatality linked to the drugs.

Susan McGowan, 58, had taken two doses of Mounjaro, which makes people feel fuller sooner, before her death in September. The jabs are available on the NHS, but Ms McGowan purchased hers privately.

The NHS has been rolling out the new generation of weight loss drugs to approximately 250,000 patients, with the Government planning to offer them to unemployed obese patients to help them get back into work, reports the Mirror.

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Susan's niece Jade Campbell, who was with Susan when she died, told the BBC: "It was so quick. I still find myself thinking, 'has that actually happened?'

"Susan had always carried a wee bit of extra weight but there were never any health concerns. She wasn't on any other medication. She was healthy. Susan was such a bubbly person. She was really generous, she was really kind and she was the life of the party - a huge personality. They said she had the biggest laugh in the hospital."

Weight loss injections, known as GLP-1 agonists, work by slowing digestion and reducing appetite.

They mimic hormones that regulate hunger and feelings of fullness. One such drug, Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, was listed as a contributing factor on the death certificate of Susan, who died from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis.

This is believed to be the first confirmed death linked to a GLP-1 agonist. Public data for Mounjaro is only available up to May this year, but between January and May