Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) want to know what you think about plans to change the way that some medicines and products are prescribed.
The CCG’s aim is to ensure you have a long, healthy life and be active and independent for as long as possible but they also have a limited budget. Because of this they need to make decisions on what to buy so the funding is in place for the right services.
The CCG spends more than £600,000 on lower value medicines and products. These are items that many people already buy for themselves. They include:
- Baby milks and infantile colic products
- Multivitamins and vitamin D
- Emollients (moisturisers) for minor dry skin conditions
- Cosmetic products, including eflornithine for facial hair
- Antifungal nail paints
- Sunscreen products
By not prescribing these items the money could be spent on more effective treatments which have a more positive impact on patients’ health.
CCG also spends about £80,000 every year on prescribing branded medications instead of prescribing non-branded (generic) medicines.
Most medicines have two names, for example Nurofen is a brand name and the generic name is ibuprofen. Generic products contain the same active ingredient as the branded product and are just as effective as branded medicines.
They also spend about £120,000 every year on gluten-free (GF) foods for patients with Coeliac Disease which you can now get easily from supermarkets and pharmacies.
The CCG want to know what you think about changing the way they prescribe:
- Branded medicines
- Lower value medicines and products such as sunscreens, baby milks, creams for unwanted hair, multivitamins, moisturisers, antifungal nail paints and colic treatments
- Gluten-free foods
To find out more about our proposals, you can download the consultation document, or pick up a hard copy at your local GP.
To have your say, complete the survey no later than 4 December 2017.
You can pick up a copy of the survey at your local GP practice, download and fill in a copy or complete online at http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/PrescribinCCCG/
The consultation document can be downloaded as Changing the way we prescribe consultation document and the survey to print out and complete as Changing the way we prescribe SURVEY.
