T3 - reply from NHS England

[marigold22]

I wrote to NHS England on 3rd May. I have today received their response.

Please find attached a response that has been provided by the Medicines, Diagnostics and Personalised Medicine Unit

within the Medical Directorate of NHS England.

I hope that you will find the explanation provided useful.

Regards Emma

Emma Woolley Customer Service Advisor

NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT

Dear Ms ………………..

Many thanks for your correspondence sent to the Customer Contact Centre at NHS England regarding NHS England’s recent announcement to review some prescription items, including Liothyronine.

The cost for all prescriptions dispensed in primary care in 2015, not including any dispensing costs or fees, was £9.27 billion, a 4.7% increase on the previous year. Due to the increasing cost, from April 2017, NHS England will lead a review of low value prescription items and develop new guidance for CCGs. CCGs are responsible for planning the right services to meet the needs of local people, buying local health services including community health care and hospital services, and checking that the services are delivering the best possible care and treatment for those who need them.

The purpose of this review is to develop guidance at a national level that will support CCGs locally to manage their resources and reduce the differing approaches and regional variation in prescribing across England. It will be based on the latest clinical evidence, including from NICE, and take account of the changing healthcare and societal environment.

Whilst seeking to set out the overall clinical evidence as to the efficacy of certain medicines, it will also recognise the needs of particular groups and individuals, which can best be addressed by the individual clinician when caring and prescribing medicines for their patient. Please be assured that careful consideration will be given to ensure that particular groups of people are not disproportionately affected, and that principles of best practice clinical prescribing are followed.

The review follows extensive work by NHS Clinical Commissioners, the membership group of CCGs, that identified significant areas where potential savings can be made, up to potentially up to £400m per year. The national guidance will be developed in partnership with CCGs and clinicians, and will seek to put in place practices that are fit for purpose now and that support a sustainable future for the NHS, as set out in NHS England’s recently published Next Steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View document.

NHS England will publish a consultation on the draft guidance on low value prescription items in the next few months. We welcome the views and expertise of the public, patients, clinicians, commissioners and providers through this consultation process to inform the final guidance. For more information, please do regularly check the NHS England’s website.

If you have any other queries regarding the NHS Five Year Forward View you can contact the team responsible directly on [e-mail].

Yours sincerely

[LouiseRoberts]

lynmynott

[Clutter]

Thanks, Marigold.

[lc1973]

Well done for writing and getting a reply Marigold22 but you must forgive my ignorance and thickness in this matter! What is the reply telling us? Doesnt seem to specific about liothyronine or am i missing the point? Sorry to be so dim.

[marigold22 in reply to lc1973]

You are not being dim..... I should have said on my post with that letter, it's the same old stuff.... no real reply, just waffle

[lc1973 in reply to marigold22]

Ahh...i was hoping (and not being sarcastic) that the CCG's had lifted the "ban" on prescribing liothyronine! And that people would be treated as individuals and prescribed what they need by their GP's!! But alas...as you say same old waffle!! But at least you got someone to reply!

[MissFG in reply to lc1973]

I didn't get it either! Want specific in any way just waffle

[Marz]

Excellent work. I wonder how much of the drugs bill is spent on statins and other expensive c*** folk do not need .... ??

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK]

If they "welcome the views and expertise of the public, patients, clinicians, commissioners and providers..." they are going to be inundated once the consultation comes out...aren't they????

[UrsaP in reply to lynmynott]

They are lynmynott - hopefully, but will they acknowledge our responses or just say there was very little objection to them banning t3...we need a way of knowing just how many people actually respond to the consultations, independent of the NHS, they could (and do) tell us anything!!

We need more publicity about the 'brush offs' we are getting....

Any word from Jerome and his article and the campaign?

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to UrsaP]

He's pitched it and is waiting for the go ahead. Fingers crossed!

[UrsaP in reply to lynmynott]

Thanks lynmynott Fingers and everything else crossed. Any updates on a Campaign?

[lynmynott Partner Thyroid UK in reply to UrsaP]

We are still waiting on a third party, I'm afraid. We have to make sure that any text we write is 100% accurate.

[UrsaP in reply to lynmynott]

Appreciate that. Thanks Lyn.

[Cariad-y-Mor in reply to lynmynott]

Just a little wail from Wales !!! Anybody know if this applies to Wales too ?