This page has been superseded by the over-the-counter medicines: changes to prescribing page

Brief description of the project

We were looking at making changes to the way we prescribe the following:

• To not routinely prescribe* gluten-free foods on a prescription basis.
• Not routinely prescribe* branded medicines when a non-branded (generic) product is available unless there is a medical reason.
• To not routinely prescribe* a range of “over the counter” medicines on prescription.

(*not routinely prescribing – this means that the prescribing clinician uses their clinical judgement in individual cases).

Ultimately, your GP will work with you to make the final decision about your medication, using official and recommended guidelines. They will take into account your individual circumstances
and condition to make an informed decision. This will ensure that you receive the best and most effective care, whilst also helping the NHS be more efficient.

We want an open and genuine conversation with people about the proposed changes to services. We want to listen to what you think about our plans.

Who did we speak to?

We had an excellent response, with over 3000 people contributing to the survey and giving their feedback.

What did people tell us?

You can read the engagement report below:

What did we do?

Following the consultation on these proposals, which the majority of people supported, it has been decided that these proposals will go ahead as suggested. The aim is that these changes will be rolled out in January 2018 with informative materials provided to help patients understand the changes and how they might be affected.

There are some documents uploaded below that help outline the results:

• Prescribing engagement report – this is the report written from the results of the survey and consultation. It goes into the detail of what people had said and the key themes that emerged, as well as the recommendations that we put forward to the Medicines Optimisation Team.
• Prescribing changes guidance update + feedback – this document is a summary of the report with a bit of detail and some of the key themes that emerged, with a response from the Medicines Optimisation Team to help clarify how certain issues that were raised will be addressed.
• Prescribing guidance – this document is drafted by the Medicines Optimisation Team and is written for professionals to help inform them how these changes will be implemented.

We are aware that NHS England is due to publish its results from a national consultation soon. Should the outcome from their consultation differ to ours we will review our guidance in line with their recommendations.

We appreciate that there might be a lot of information to digest and some will be more affected than others by these changes. If you have any concerns, in the first instance, please get in contact with your GP to discuss these changes.

Printed copies of the documentation are available on request. If you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on leedsccg.comms@nhs.net or call 0113 843 5470

Downloads: