§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recommendations from the recent National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines on eating disorders he expects to introduce in Northern Ireland. [176876]
§ Angela SmithGuidelines produced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) are only applicable to England and Wales; there is no statutory requirement to implement NICE guidelines in Northern Ireland. The Department is considering how guidelines issued by NICE can be fully assessed and applied in the context of Northern Ireland's health and social services.
127WWork is currently underway to establish an Eating Disorder Service and at this stage of early development it is not possible to identify which recommendations in the NICE guidelines would be applicable. In setting up the service the evidence based work contained in the guidelines will be taken into consideration.