Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the proposals in the consultation, Conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care: A consultation on guidance for CCGs do not contravene the principle in the NHS constitution whereby access to NHS services is based on clinical need and not an individual’s ability to pay and NHS services are free of charge except in limited circumstances sanctioned by Parliament.

NHS England, in partnership with NHS Clinical Commissioners (the organisation that represents clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)) has recently published CCG guidance setting out recommendations on conditions for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care. This guidance has not introduced any charges for NHS services; it does however outline appropriate prescribing for the 35 conditions specified.

The guidance issued is commissioning guidance for CCGs in England only, and is not a clinical guideline and as such, it does not affect a general practitioner’s (GP) ability to determine what the cause of specified symptoms are, to make a diagnosis and then to act appropriately. Furthermore, any such guidance does not preclude the ability of an individual to access their GP for whatever symptoms they are experiencing, to seek advice and appropriate treatment. In addition there are several exceptions within the guidance that outline specific scenarios (i.e. long term or complex conditions that require over the counter treatments, vulnerable patients, to treat side effects of other prescription only drugs) where prescribing should continue.