Changes to prescribing and other services
In order to protect funding our most essential Health services- things like cancer care, emergency care, life threatening conditions and mental health services, North East London Integrated Care Board have a list of treatments/interventions that are only funded by the NHS when a patient meets certain clinical threshold criteria
The NHS has Stopped Doctors from Prescribing the Following on the NHS:
- Over the Counter pain killers for short term problems such as Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Co-codamol
- Many other medicines which are available over the counter from your pharmacy
- Gluten-free products
- Medicines for dental conditions
- Head lice and scabies medicines
- Rubefacient creams and gels such as Deep Heat and Tiger Balm
- Omega-3 and other fish oil supplements
- Multivitamin supplements
- Eye vitamin supplements
- Colic remedies for babies
- Cough and Cold Remedies
- Soya-based formula milk
- Antimalarials
- Threadworm medicine
- Over the counter Sleeping Tablets
- Hay Fever medicine (for mild and moderate)
- Travel Sickness medicine
- Vitamin D maintenance
- Probiotics
- Bath oils, shower gels, shampoos
- Creams for mild/moderate skin conditions
- Sunscreens except cancer/specialist
Procedures the local NHS will no longer normally fund:
-
Procedures Speciality Acupuncture Alternative therapy Herbal medicines Alternative therapy Homeopathy Alternative therapy Excess skin excision from buttocks, thighs and arms Bariatric surgery Liposuction Bariatric surgery Surgery to correct divarification (or diastasis) of the abdominal rectus muscle Bariatric surgery Breast augmentation Breast Breast lift (mastopexy) Breast Male breast reduction (gynaecomastia) Breast 2L Exercise ECG for screening for coronary heart disease (Treadmill test for heart disease) Cardiology Face lifts and brow lifts (rhytidectomy) Dermatology & Skin Hair transplantation Dermatology & Skin Repair of split ear lobes Dermatology & Skin Tattoo removal Dermatology & Skin Treatment for scarring and skin hyper- or hypo- pigmentation Dermatology & Skin Surgical interventions for snoring in the absence of obstructive sleep apnoea ENT Double balloon enteroscopy for diagnostic purpose Gastroenterology All treatments for vascular lesions General Surgery Cosmetic genital procedures (labiaplasty – excluding Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) (refer to circumcision category 2 prior approval policy) Gynaecology/Urology Dilation & curettage (D&C) for heavy menstrual bleeding in women Gynaecology/Urology MRI guided ultrasound (MRgFUS) for uterine fibroids Gynaecology/Urology Non-medical circumcision Gynaecology/Urology Reversal of female sterilisation and reversal of vasectomy Gynaecology/Urology Sacral nerve stimulation for faecal and urinary incontinence Gynaecology/Urology Varicocele Gynaecology/Urology White cell apheresis Haematology Ketogenic diet for epilepsy Medicine Laser surgery for short sightedness Ophthalmology Autologous chondrocyte (cartilage) implantation Orthopaedics Injections for non-specific low back pain Orthopaedics Knee arthroscopy for patients with osteoarthritis Orthopaedics Interventional treatments for back pain Orthopaedics — Lumbar disc replacement Orthopaedics — Ozone discectomy Orthopaedics 2Z Helmet therapy for treatment of positional plagiocephaly / brachycephaly in children (Helmets to reshape flat heads in babies) Individual Funding Request Paediatrics Manual therapies (osteopathy – outside of an MSK integrated service) Physiotherapy
Why is the NHS/ICB doing this?
They say: “Like many areas across the country, we are faced with some difficult choices to protect essential health services. The care and treatment that we provide every day for patients is funded by tax payers money. That’s why we have a duty to spend it wisely, to make sure we get the best value we possibly can for every penny- especially when NHS funding is being severely squeezed and we are seeing more patients with more complex health issues than ever before.”