Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of NICE’s COVID-19 rapid guideline for managing suspected or confirmed pneumonia in the community, published in May 2020, on clinician preference to (a) choose the right treatment to meet specific patient circumstances and (b) allow for local antimicrobial prescribing preferences.

NHS England and NHS Improvement commissioned rapid guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on managing suspected or confirmed pneumonia in the community, which was published on 3 April 2020 and then rapidly disseminated as part of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Whilst the Department has not assessed the effect of the guidance on clinicians’ preference to choose the most appropriate treatment or to allow for local antimicrobial prescribing preferences, NICE guidance is not mandatory and is used in conjunction with existing professional guidance and clinical standards.

Furthermore, as new guidance is published, NICE initiates daily surveillance of intelligence to identify evidence on the effectiveness and impact of the guidance. Where necessary, a rapid update process is used, and amended guidance is re-published on the NICE website. The guidance for managing suspected or confirmed pneumonia in the community has been updated three times to reflect new evidence.