NICE Guidance and the Trust Formulary

The formulary comprises a list of medicines which have been approved by East Cheshire NHS Trust Medicines Management Group (MMG) for prescribing within the Trust. In order to add a drug to the formulary, the consultant will need to complete an application form and submit for consideration at the next MMG.

The purpose of the formulary is to ensure evidence-based and cost-effective prescribing and provide information relating to drug use. All prescribing from within the Trust (i.e. inpatient, out-patient and FP10 prescribing) must comply with the formulary.  The advice given to GPs with regard to drug treatment options must also be in line with Trust formulary recommendations. This will be monitored on an on-going basis.

Under the NHS Constitution, patients have the right to drugs and treatments recommended by NICE if their doctor thinks it is clinically appropriate. NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, www.nice.org.uk) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health. NICE guidance is based on the best available evidence of the most effective care, looking at clinical and cost-effectiveness, and aims to ensure treatment is available equally across different regions.

East Cheshire NHS Trust has a responsibility to implement NICE guidance to ensure patients receive the best and most appropriate treatment and that NHS resources are not wasted by inappropriate treatment. The Trust has a process in place to enable access to all NICE-approved medicines. The formulary below highlights the drugs available to patients in line with NICE recommendations. Any NICE guidance that is not applicable to the Trust (e.g. we do not provide those services here) are highlighted at the end of the formulary.

If a medicine does not appear on the formulary does not exclude it from being used in the Trust if deemed clinically appropriate. In this case, these drugs may still be available on an individual basis if exceptional circumstances exist.