Commissioning effective treatment
To make sure that we can provide the best care for the most people it’s vital that we make every penny count. We must support and pay for treatments that have the greatest benefit not only to individuals but also to our community as a whole.
Some treatments cannot be justified as there is little evidence to say they improve health, or the costs involved cannot be justified. There is a limited pot of money so some hard choices have to be made.
This is why doctors and other health professionals have now produced a list of treatments which the NHS won’t carry out, and others which will only be done in certain circumstances.
For example, we won’t generally carry out operations for mild varicose veins, hair loss or surgical treatment for snoring. It would be very unusual for the NHS to carry out cosmetic surgery or fund alternative therapies such as homeopathy.There are also strict criteria which must be met before the NHS will, for example, take out tonsils, remove skin tags, warts or other lesions, or provide weight loss surgery.
Additionally, the Manchester Clinical Commissioning Groups, with the advice of local doctors, from time to time agrees ‘thresholds’ for clinical services. These thresholds are designed to ensure that patients are treated by the right clinical service according to their needs, based on the best available evidence. It is important to remember that while the NHS won’t provide treatment which has little health benefit, there are sometimes exceptional circumstances where there may be overwhelming heath benefits for an individual patient. In these cases, a doctor, on behalf of a patient, can explain the exceptional circumstances to NHS Manchester and a special panel will decide if the NHS will carry out the operation. If you would like further information please contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on Freephone – 0800 015 1462 or email pals@manchester.nhs.uk.
Individual Funding Requests (IFR)
The Individual Funding Requests (IFR) Policy describes the process for making decisions about individual funding requests to NHS Manchester for treatments that are not normally funded. NHS Manchester considers each request in accordance with the IFR Policy to ensure a consistent, transparent and fair process for all.
www.manchester.nhs.uk/document_uploads/Individual%20Funding%20Requests/IFR%20policy%20June%2011%20approved%20by%20Board1.docClick here to read the Individual Funding Request (IFR) Policy
Please note, the IFR application form is within the policy - Appendix 4 and 5 (pages 32 - 37).
For an information leaflet for people making, or thinking of making, an individual funding request, click here or, for more information contact nhs-man.individualfundingrequests@nhs.net