A Birmingham-based doctor and new mother has launched a CQC-registered, doctor-led medical weight management clinic after raising concerns about the rapid rise of poorly supervised weight-loss prescribing across the UK. Alongside working with the NHS, Dr Nadia Ahmad, 35, has now entered the world of entrepreneurship and is raising awareness with a Billboard in Solihull during National Nutrition Month this March, as she sets about trying to reach the thousands of people in the city who are falling foul to managing weight loss medication alone.
Demand for medical weight-loss treatment has surged across the UK, with around 1.6 million adults now using medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro. Interest continues to rise, with an estimated 4.9 million people either using or considering these drugs. However, many are accessing them through services that are not doctor-led, often with limited medical checks or follow-up. This raises concerns around patient safety, appropriate prescribing, and the need for properly regulated, clinician-led care.
Dr Ahmad who has worked in the NHS for 8 years, over the West Midlands and Northwest England is the Director and Founder of The Weight Care Clinic and has launched the service after seeing for herself an increasing number of patients being prescribed powerful weight-loss medications online with little medical oversight or follow-up care. Feeling frustrated and concerned about this being a growing trend, she decided, during her maternity, after the birth of her first daughter, to do something about it, but stepping forward publicly has been outside her comfort zone.
“As doctors we’re used to working quietly in the background. Putting my face out there has felt very unfamiliar,” she says. “But it felt important to speak directly to people and let them know there is safe, medically supervised help available.”
“I was seeing people being prescribed powerful medications with very limited checks and little ongoing support. Patients were often left to manage side effects or complications alone. As a doctor, that simply didn’t sit right with me.”
Determined to provide a safer and more responsible alternative, Dr Ahmad combines medical assessment, prescription treatment where clinically appropriate, and ongoing clinical monitoring. Patients receive structured care including doctor consultations, clinical reviews, side-effect support and long-term metabolic health guidance rather than simply receiving medication.
Through her work Dr Ahmad has also become increasingly concerned about the way obesity is often misunderstood. “At its heart, this clinic is about restoring trust in medical weight care,” she says. “People’s bodies deserve science, compassion and proper medical oversight, not shortcuts – and I also think it’s important we start to have better conversations around obesity and the challenges some people are facing. Obesity is a complex chronic medical condition influenced by genetics, hormones, mental health and life circumstances, yet people are often made to feel it’s simply a failure of willpower.”
The Weight Care Clinic focuses on long-term metabolic health, particularly supporting women whose weight challenges are linked to conditions such as PCOS, menopause, endometriosis and fertility struggles.
“Too many women are told to ‘just lose weight’ without anyone investigating the underlying causes. Women deserve healthcare that listens, investigates and supports them properly.”
Dr Ahmad who was raised in South Manchester in a British Pakistani family, believes her background also helps her understand cultural barriers that can prevent people from accessing support.
“As a British Pakistani Muslim woman and now a mother myself, I understand how health decisions are shaped by culture, family and community,” she explains.
“That perspective matters when you’re supporting patients from diverse backgrounds.”
Dr Ahmad hopes the clinic will continue to grow while maintaining strict clinical standards and hopes it may one day support NHS services tackling the UK’s growing metabolic health crisis.
“I want to build something that genuinely improves people’s health and restores trust in medical weight care. A healthcare service rooted in science, compassion and integrity.”
