New NHS consultation on gluten-free prescriptions in Staffordshire

NHS are asking for your views on prescriptions in their Gluten-Free Survey. If you’re from the Staffordshire, then they want to hear from you!

The NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit are asking for feedback about gluten-free prescriptions.

Go straight to survey

More than 16,00 prescriptions for gluten-free foods were written between June ’18 and July ’19 in Staffordshire and the surrounding areas. The cost of those prescriptions totalled over £280,000.

Therefore a survey consultation has been launched to assess whether people believe this is “the best use of NHS resources”.

They’d like to know your views about new proposals to remove gluten-free product prescriptions for adults. This would mean GPs could only prescribe gluten-free items to those under the age of 18 who are diagnosed with coeliac disease, other gluten-related enteropathy or dermatitis herpetiformis. Items would be restricted to only bread and mixes.

The proposal “could potentially lead to a reduction in patients receiving gluten-free products on prescription by around 85 per cent”.

North Staffordshire CCG and Stoke-on-Trent CCG have already restricted gluten-free food prescribing to children and adolescents under the age of 18 diagnosed with coeliac disease, other gluten-related enteropathy or dermatitis herpetiformis.

The survey closes at midnight on the 9th of February.

Paper copies can be obtained by emailing mlcsu.researchservices@nhs.net or calling 0333 150 2155.

Have your views heard in the survey

Read about another consultation in Buckinghamshire.

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