Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that those with vulnerabilities can access COVID-19 treatments in a timely manner, given the transition of COVID-19 treatment to routine pathways and the removal of important support systems such as digital enablers.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following positive National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendations for community-based COVID-19 treatments, integrated care boards (ICBs) will have a statutory responsibility for providing access from 27 June. As with other treatments, it will be for ICBs, who are closer to their local population, to determine the appropriate access arrangements within the treatment window.
NHS England has written to highest-risk patients who can be digitally identified to advise them of the changes in the pathway and to advise them to contact local services as per local pathways. UK Health Security Agency, the Department and NHS England have also been working with patient groups to raise awareness of the changes as we move out of pandemic-specific arrangements.
NHS England has also been working with local systems to support the development of the new pathways, and provide assurance that new arrangements will be in place to ensure access for patients, NHS England will continue to monitor the transition to routine pathways.
Patients newly diagnosed with a qualifying condition or treatment regime should be advised by their treating clinician at that point that they may be eligible, and how to access services if they test positive for COVID-19. Clinicians will then consider COVID-19 as a potential diagnosis when assessing patients, determine whether the individual is at highest risk and act accordingly, in line with their clinical judgement.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the UK is out of step with other countries in its eligibility restrictions for COVID-19 antiviral treatments, such as precluding those over 70 and with COVID-19 symptoms from accessing them.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Here in the United Kingdom, the Government has made available a range of treatment options for eligible hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19. These are being used to treat UK patients in line with evidence-based recommendations from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), following the established processes in this area.
NICE has determined eligibility of access following a review of the available evidence and taking into consideration reports such as the Independent Advisory Group’s report on higher-risk patients eligible for COVID-19 treatments.
The UK’s guidance, as with the World Health Organization living guideline, have been published in MAGICapp, a global evidence ecosystem used by global partners to help formulate local access policies.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to support integrated care boards during the transition of COVID-19 treatments to routine pathways and to ensure equitable access across England.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has made available a range of treatment options for eligible hospitalised and non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19 and the NHS will continue to deliver treatment for COVID-19 patients in line with evidence-based recommendations from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the continued delivery of COVID-19 treatments, including where appropriate transitioning the delivery of community-based COVID-19 treatments away from COVID-19 Medicine Delivery Units to routine care pathways by the end of this month. ICBs have the flexibility to create a routine patient access pathway that best meets local needs and circumstances, including for immunocompromised patients. NHS England is working closely with local health systems and supporting ICBs to develop service delivery plans.