Policy responses and statements

Name of organisation:

Health Rights Information Scotland

Name of policy document:

Access to new medicines - Professional stakeholder consultation

Deadline for response:

30 October 2009

Background: Health Rights Information Scotland (HRIS) is a joint initiative of Consumer Focus Scotland and the Scottish Government Health Directorates. Its aim is to produce and raise the quality of information available to patients when using NHS services in Scotland.

In response to a Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee Inquiry into the availability of cancer drugs in Scotland, the Scottish Government made a commitment to produce a patient leaflet describing the process by which new medicines are licensed and accepted for use by the NHS in Scotland. The Scottish Government Health Directorates has asked Health Rights Information Scotland to assist in the development of this leaflet, which aims to:

• describe the range of decision making processes (nationally and at local level) whereby new medicines are considered for use in the NHS in Scotland
• describe how and why NHS boards in Scotland would prescribe medicines not approved by the SMC or NHS QIS, and
• signpost patients to other sources of information, including appropriate contacts at local level.

Download this consultation response as a .pdf

Copies of this response are available from:

Lesley Lockhart,
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh,
9 Queen Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1JQ.

Tel: 0131 225 7324 ext 608
Fax: 0131 220 3939

[30 October 2009]