National consultation on the prescribing of low priority items

Date exercise ended - Thursday, February 28, 2019

NHS England (NHSE) and NHS Clinical Commissioners (NHSCC) have launched a new consultation to support the review of eight items currently available on prescription, which are considered to be of low clinical priority and which cost the NHS more than £68 million per year.

These items have relatively low clinical effectiveness, have more cost effective alternatives or, due to the nature of the item, are considered a low priority for NHS funding. The items which are being reviewed are listed below:

  • Silk garments
  • Aliskiren – used to treat blood pressure
  • Amiodarone – used to treat abnormal heart rhythms
  • Bath and shower emollient preparations
  • Dronedarone – used to treat atrial fibrillation
  • Minocycline – used to treat acne
  • Blood glucose testing strips for type 2 diabetes
  • Needles for prefilled and reusable insulin pens for diabetes

This current review builds on the work that NHSE and NHSCC have done to support CCGs to use their prescribing resources more effectively and deliver best patient outcomes. This includes a number of previous exercises to review the commissioning guidance for the following:

Sefton residents are invited to get involved in the consultation which runs until the 28 February 2019.

How to get involved

  • Read more about the proposals and consultation here
  • Or use the easy read consultation guide
  • Complete an online survey before the consultation closes on 28 February 2019.
  • If you have any questions please contact: england.medicines@nhs.net

Next steps

Once the consultation has ended, the feedback will be considered by NHSE and NHSCC and a decision made about the proposals to update the prescribing guidance for these items.

After the review is fully complete, the outcomes of the consultation will be published.

 

Visit the ‘How we use your views’ section for examples of where your feedback has informed our work, plans and strategies.