Medical Weight Management in Brighton & Hove
If you have tried before and it did not last, that is not a failure of willpower.
Weight is shaped by biology, health, hormones, sleep, medicines, eating patterns, environment and life. That is why I start with a proper assessment rather than a promise or a product.
Medical Weight Management at odNOVA begins with a 60-minute assessment of your weight and health. The aim is to understand what may be contributing, decide whether this service is appropriate and give you a realistic next step. If ongoing care follows, 45-minute reviews are used to judge response, tolerability and whether the plan should continue, change, pause or stop.
A prescription option may be considered only after individual assessment and only when clinically appropriate. It is never guaranteed and it is never the only possible outcome.
The essentials, before the detail.
This is a prescriber-led clinical service for people who want their weight considered in the context of their health. The starting point is assessment. Ongoing care is monitored. A prescription may or may not form part of the plan.
- Initial appointment
- Initial Medical Weight Management Assessment — 60 minutes / £50.
- What the assessment is for
- To review your weight history, health, medicines, previous approaches, priorities and the information needed to decide a realistic next step.
- Assessment outcome
- A clinical explanation of whether this pathway appears appropriate and what should happen next. A prescription is not guaranteed.
- Ongoing appointment
- Weight Management Review — 45 minutes / £40.
- What the review considers
- Response, weight/BMI, side effects and tolerability, and relevant changes to your health or medicines.
- What the review decides
- Whether care should continue, change, pause or stop, and whether another route should be considered.
- Review fee
- The £40 pays for the attended clinical review whether or not ongoing medicine is prescribed.
- If medicine is prescribed
- The £40 review fee is applied to the individually confirmed medicine cost and you pay the remaining balance. There is no separate prescription-issuing fee in this pathway.
- Dispensing and delivery
- A pharmacy dispenses and delivers any prescribed medicine. odNOVA does not physically dispense or deliver it.
- No-show condition
- If you do not attend the review, the £40 review fee is not refunded.
- Realistic outcome
- Clinically meaningful change that remains safe and tolerable for you. No rate, final weight or permanent result is guaranteed.
The initial assessment
The £50 pays for an hour of clinical assessment and a recommendation, not for a guaranteed prescription. If the right answer is another service, more information first, or no treatment for now, the assessment has still done its job.
The ongoing review
The 45-minute review is not an administrative step for obtaining more medicine. It is the point at which response and tolerability are checked and continuing care has to earn its place.
The aim is for you to leave with a clearer picture of your health and a realistic next step. If ongoing care begins, each review asks the same question: is this still helping enough, safely enough, to justify continuing?
Full clinical guide
Health · Assessment · SuitabilityMonitoring · Costs · Long-term decisions
The real detail, when you are ready for it.
This guide explains why weight deserves a medical rather than moral judgement; what the initial assessment is for; what ongoing monitoring should decide; how fees, medicine cost and pharmacy supply are separated; and why no prescription or result can be promised in advance.
01 Weight is a health matter
Biology, health and circumstances matter more than blame.
Weight is influenced by many overlapping factors: genetics, metabolism, hormones, health conditions, some medicines, sleep, mental health, eating patterns and environment. Willpower does not explain that complexity, and judgement does not improve it.
A clinical assessment looks for the pattern rather than assuming one cause. The purpose is not to excuse the problem. It is to choose a response that has a chance of making sense for the person living with it.
02 What BMI does and does not tell us
A useful measurement, not a verdict.
Body mass index can contribute to assessment and eligibility, but it is not a complete description of health. It does not distinguish muscle from fat, show where weight is carried or explain how another condition or medicine may affect risk.
BMI is considered alongside your history and other relevant clinical information. A single number does not decide the whole plan.
03 What the initial assessment considers
Sixty minutes to understand the picture before choosing a direction.
The Initial Medical Weight Management Assessment considers:
- how your weight has changed over time;
- previous approaches, what helped and what was difficult to sustain;
- relevant health conditions and family history;
- current medicines, allergies and previous adverse effects;
- eating patterns, appetite, sleep, alcohol and activity;
- mental health and your relationship with food;
- your priorities and what meaningful improvement would look like; and
- whether further information or another clinical route should come first.
The assessment is more than a weigh-in and it is not a test of whether you “deserve” treatment.
04 What the assessment provides
The purchased outcome is a clinical decision.
The £50 fee pays for a 60-minute assessment and clinical recommendation. The aim is for you to understand whether this pathway appears appropriate, what a realistic objective may be and what the next step should be.
That next step may be ongoing care at odNOVA, further information before a decision, another service, or no treatment for now. A useful assessment does not have to end with a prescription.
05 Nutrition during weight change
Less intake still has to support health.
Weight change should not be judged only by how little a person can eat. Protein, fibre, fluids and an adequate range of nutrients remain important while intake changes.
The assessment considers how nutrition relates to your plan, but this service is not presented as specialist dietetic care. Where more detailed nutritional support is needed, another appropriately qualified service may be the better route.
06 Activity, function and lean tissue
The scale is not the only measure that matters.
Activity can support health, function and wellbeing independently of the number on the scale. Weight loss can also include loss of lean tissue, which is one reason a plan should consider function, nutrition, strength and tolerability rather than chasing the fastest possible change.
The appropriate level and type of activity depend on your health and starting point. This service does not promise a specialist exercise programme.
07 Behaviour, sleep and environment
A plan has to fit the life it is meant to survive.
Sleep, stress, alcohol, work patterns, routine and access to suitable food can all affect eating and the ability to sustain change. A plan that ignores those pressures may look good on paper and fail in real life.
The assessment considers that context without turning every difficulty into a character judgement.
08 Medical contributors and current medicines
Sometimes another health question comes first.
Some health conditions and some medicines can contribute to weight gain or make change harder. The assessment reviews relevant history and current medicines so that a weight-management plan is not layered blindly over something that needs attention elsewhere.
If another clinical assessment appears more appropriate, I explain that rather than treating this pathway as the answer to every cause of weight change.
09 Mental health and eating patterns
Asked with care, because they affect safety.
Mood, stress, previous experiences and a person’s relationship with food can be relevant to both suitability and the kind of support that is appropriate. These questions are asked without judgement.
Where an eating disorder or another mental-health concern may require specialist care, that needs to be considered before a weight-management intervention is assumed to be suitable.
10 Pregnancy, breastfeeding and planning
Important information before any treatment decision.
Tell me if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, planning pregnancy or think pregnancy may be possible. This information can change whether an option is appropriate and what advice is needed.
Any medicine-specific requirements are discussed privately and individually. A general webpage should not be used to make a personal stopping, starting or contraception decision.
11 If a prescription option is considered
One possible tool inside a monitored plan.
A prescription option is considered only after assessment and only when the expected benefit appears to justify the risks and monitoring. It is not guaranteed, selected in advance or supplied simply because it has been requested.
If prescribing is appropriate, the private discussion covers why the option may or may not fit, how it is monitored, its specific risks and precautions, what changes should be reported, and its individually confirmed cost. Prescribing remains an accountable clinical decision, including the decision not to prescribe.
12 Realistic outcomes
No promised weekly rate, final weight or permanent result.
The rate and degree of change vary between people. A real outcome can be smaller, larger or absent, and tolerability can limit what is reasonable.
Progress is judged against an agreed clinical objective and your health, not against another person’s result. Weight can be one measure, but function, wellbeing and relevant clinical information may matter as well. The aim is meaningful change that remains safe and tolerable, not rapid loss at any cost.
13 Maintenance, stopping and regain
The exit belongs in the plan from the beginning.
Weight regain after care stops is possible. That is not proof that the person failed; it reflects the fact that the factors regulating weight may still be present.
The likely duration of care, the burden and cost over time, and what maintenance may involve should be considered before treatment feels routine. Stopping, pausing or changing care is a clinical decision, not an afterthought.
14 Safety and individual advice
The relevant risk profile depends on the option and the person.
Different prescription options do not share one identical risk profile. Combining them into one list would be misleading.
If a medicine is considered, its expected effects, important risks, precautions and the symptoms that should prompt urgent help are discussed individually. Ongoing review checks whether the benefit still justifies side effects and burden. Care can be changed, paused or stopped when continuing is not appropriate.
15 When another route may fit better
Not every health question belongs in this pathway.
This service may not be the right starting point when another medical condition needs assessment first, when specialist mental-health or eating-disorder support is more appropriate, when pregnancy or reproductive planning changes the decision, when safe monitoring is not possible, or when the objective depends on a guaranteed or very rapid result.
NHS weight-management support, GP care, specialist services, dietetic or psychological support, or deciding not to proceed may be better options for some people. If another route appears more appropriate, I say so.
16 Monitoring and the 45-minute review
Continuing care is a decision, not an automatic repeat.
Ongoing care uses a dedicated Weight Management Review: 45 minutes / £40. The review considers response, weight/BMI, side effects and tolerability, and any relevant changes to your health or medicines.
The review then decides whether care should continue, change, pause or stop. Continued prescribing is conditional on clinical review; it is not an automatic repeat-supply service.
The £40 remains the fee for the attended clinical review whether or not ongoing medicine is prescribed. That is because the clinical decision is the service.
17 Alternatives and no treatment
This is one route, not the only route.
Alternatives may include NHS weight-management support through your GP, assessment of an underlying contributor, specialist dietetic or psychological support, a specialist medical or surgical pathway, supported change without medicine, or doing nothing for now.
Choosing another route or deciding that the timing is not right is a legitimate outcome. The purpose of the assessment is to make the next decision better, not to make treatment inevitable.
18 From assessment to ongoing care
A clear sequence, with no prescription promised.
- Initial Medical Weight Management Assessment — 60 minutes / £50. Your weight history, health, medicines, previous approaches, priorities and suitability are considered.
- Clinical recommendation. You receive an explanation of whether this pathway appears appropriate and what the realistic next step is.
- Private prescribing discussion, only if relevant. No medicine is selected from the webpage and no prescription is guaranteed.
- Weight Management Review — 45 minutes / £40. Response, weight/BMI, tolerability and relevant health or medicine changes are reviewed.
- Continue, change, pause or stop. Ongoing care proceeds only when the balance remains clinically appropriate.
19 Fees, medicine cost and pharmacy supply
The clinical fee and medicine cost are separate decisions.
Medicine cost cannot be quoted as one public figure because it depends on the individual prescription. It is confirmed individually if prescribing is clinically appropriate.
20 Questions patients ask
Questions patients ask
What do I receive from the initial assessment?
The Initial Medical Weight Management Assessment is 60 minutes and costs £50. It reviews your weight history, health, medicines, previous approaches, priorities and suitability. The aim is for you to leave with a clearer picture of your health and a realistic next step. A prescription is not guaranteed.
Is the £50 assessment fee a payment for a prescription?
No. The £50 pays for the 60-minute clinical assessment and recommendation, whether or not prescribing is appropriate. Any medicine cost is separate; a pharmacy dispenses and delivers.
Can I choose or order a medicine from this page?
No. A prescription-only medicine is not selected from a website. If a prescription option becomes relevant, it is discussed privately after assessment, with its individual benefits, risks, monitoring and cost. The decision may still be not to prescribe.
What happens at a Weight Management Review?
The Weight Management Review is 45 minutes and costs £40. It considers response, weight/BMI, side effects and tolerability, and relevant changes to your health or medicines. The review decides whether care should continue, change, pause or stop.
What does the £40 review fee pay for if medicine is not prescribed?
It pays for the attended 45-minute clinical review and the decision made from it. The fee applies whether care continues, changes, pauses or stops. It is not a prescription-issuing charge.
What happens to the £40 fee if ongoing medicine is prescribed?
The £40 review fee is applied to the individually confirmed medicine cost and you pay the remaining balance. There is no separate prescription-issuing fee within Medical Weight Management.
Who dispenses and delivers the medicine?
A pharmacy dispenses and delivers any prescribed medicine. odNOVA does not physically dispense or deliver it. The exact medicine and cost depend on the individual clinical decision and are not presented as a public menu.
What happens if I miss the Weight Management Review?
If you do not attend the review, the £40 review fee is not refunded.
How quickly will I lose weight?
Rate and degree vary between people, and no weekly rate, final weight or permanent result can be guaranteed. Progress is judged against an agreed clinical objective and whether change remains safe, tolerable and meaningful for you.
Can treatment be changed or stopped?
Yes. Ongoing review considers response, side effects, tolerability, weight/BMI and relevant health or medicine changes. Care may continue, change, pause or stop when that is the clinically appropriate decision.
Is medication the only route?
No. Depending on your needs, another option may include supported change without medicine, NHS or GP care, dietetic or psychological support, a specialist pathway, or no treatment for now. A prescription is one possible tool, not the definition of the service.
What if I decide not to proceed?
That is entirely acceptable. An assessment is not an obligation to continue. Choosing another route or deciding that the timing is not right is a legitimate outcome.
21 References and sources
References & sources
These sources support the clinical framework, assessment-first approach and public prescribing boundary used on this page.
- NICE — Overweight and obesity management (NG246). Available at: nice.org.uk/guidance/ng246
- NICE — Overweight and obesity management: Quality Standard (QS212). Available at: nice.org.uk/guidance/qs212
- NHS — Overweight and obesity in adults: treatment. Available at: nhs.uk/conditions/obesity/treatment
- Committee of Advertising Practice — CAP Code, Section 12. Available at: asa.org.uk/type/non_broadcast/code_section/12.html
This page provides general information about a clinical weight-management service. It is not individual medical advice. Suitability and any prescribing decision depend on individual assessment. Results cannot be guaranteed, and ongoing care continues only while it remains clinically appropriate.
Written by
MPharm · Pharmacist Independent Prescriber · MSc Cosmetic & Aesthetic Medicine · PGDip Dermatology in Clinical Practice
A considered start, with every later decision reviewed on its own merits.
The first appointment asks whether this pathway is right for you. Ongoing reviews ask whether it is still helping enough, safely enough, to justify continuing.
