Restricted treatments and procedures

You may have heard recently that NHS England and the Department of Health are about to consult on a number of procedures which are ineffective or may pose risk and so may not be available on the NHS in the future.  In Hampshire and the Isle of Wight we have been looking at these issues for many years.  The Hampshire Priorities Committee (HPC) is a non-statutory body which works across and with local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.   The Committee is led by a local GP with a panel of clinical and managerial members, including public health and pharmacy representatives.  The Committee review the clinical evidence for a number of procedures and make recommendation to commissioners as to the prioritisation of some procedures and whether this should be routinely funded by the NHS or if certain criteria, based on the evidence, should be applied.

In recent months the HPC has made recommendations to local CCGs, who are the statutory body responsible for planning and buying NHS services, in relation to ear wax removal and cataract surgery and these may have an impact on how this is provided to patients in the future.  The HPC is currently looking at the evidence for knee surgery and will make recommendations in the early autumn. 

We would like to hear from you if you are interested or concerned about any of these areas.