These policies are based on those previously used by NHS Leeds, the former primary care trust. They relate to how the CCGs make decisions about providing treatments that are not normally available through the NHS.

The CCGs in Leeds have agreed that they will have the same Individual Funding Requests policies to make sure that people in Leeds have the exactly the same access to the application process.

Like any other organisation, the NHS has limited resources and we have a duty to manage them carefully.

This means we have to:

• Look at evidence for the safety and effectiveness of any treatment
• Ensure that the services we pay for will give patients the greatest health gains from the resources we have.
• We have an over arching policy called the Individual Funding Request Process (IFRP), which is based on national best practice. This sets out the principles behind our decisions on individual treatments. It also explains the system we have for processing each request for treatment.

Decisions on paying for treatments or drugs that are not normally funded are made by a panel. The panel is made up of a mix of clinically qualified people from hospital, general practice and public health, on clinical and independent members. The only change to the process as part of the update, is that a trained lay representative will now attend the panels to make sure that the proper process is followed and consistent decisions are made.

There are some treatments that are not routinely funded, for example, cosmetic surgery or treatment, complementary or alternative therapies, and some high-cost drugs. The policies relating to these, and some other treatments, must be refreshed on a regular basis. This is to ensure that they are kept up to date and in line with new technologies, clinical research, and changes in commissioning approaches.

Downloads:

If you want to know what our policy is on a particular drug or treatment that is not listed above, you can contact:

Tel: 0113 8435223
E-mail: ifrpanel@nhs.net