Nurse's death becomes the first in the UK to be linked to NHS-approved weight-loss jab Mounjaro after 58-year-old fell ill after taking two small doses

A nurse's death has been linked to her taking a weight-loss drug that was approved for use on the NHS.

Susan McGowan, 58, from Lanarkshire, died from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis after taking two low-dose injections of tirzepatide, known under the brand name Mounjaro.

She took the jabs for a two-week period before her death on September 4, which is thought to be the first death officially linked to drug in the UK.

Earlier this week, the Danish manufacturer of famed weight-loss jab Ozempic revealed that ten Americans died and 100 were hospitalised after taking pharmacy-made knockoffs of their drug.

Ms McGowan was a nurse at University Hospital Monklands in Airdrie, Scotland, for more than three decades and had often chatted with her friends about her struggle to lose weight.

She bought a prescription through a registered online pharmacy after looking into Mounjaro and seeking medical advice.

Just days after taking the drug, which costs between £150 and £200 for a four-week supply, Ms McGowan started having severe stomach pains and went to A&E at the hospital she worked at.

Although her colleagues fought to save her, she tragically passed away with her niece Jade Campbell by her side.

Jade told the BBC : '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.'

In June, Scotland became the first country in the UK to approve Mounjaro , which was dubbed the 'King Kong' of obesity jabs.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium ruled this year that Mounjaro could be made available on the NHS to people to help them lose weight .

Mounjaro is the latest in a line of slimming injections that have seen users shed huge amounts of weight , and is thought to be one of the most effective.

It will cost the Scottish NHS £33.6million a year. The cost of obesity to the NHS is estimated at £600million a year.

Mounjaro is the brand name of a drug called tirzepatide, and is given as a weekly injection in various strengths .

It is the latest of a new generation of jabs that help people lose weight , similar to Ozempic and Wegovy which have also recently been approved by the SMC.

The drugs, known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), suppress hunger by mimicking hormones indicating that the body is full.

Mounjaro also slows the passage of food through the stomach.

Studies have found people can lose up to 20 per cent of their body weight over 36 weeks by taking Mounjaro .

The difference in results led US diabetes expert Dr Julio Rosenstock to declare Mounjaro 'King Kong' compared to 'the gorilla' of its rival Wegovy.

However people generally need to keep taking the medicine in order to maintain their weight loss.

Mounjaro was recently approved by the SMC as a treatment for type 2 diabetes as it also helps boost the production of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar .

The June ruling paved the way for thousands of Scots without diabetes to receive injections to help them lose weight.