§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if it is his policy that treatments should not be available in the NHS unless they have been subjected to randomised controlled trials; [13782]
(2) what proportion of treatments used in the NHS have been subjected to randomised controlled trials. [13781]
§ Jacqui SmithNo. Clinicians may choose to prescribe medication on the national health service which has not yet been licensed for use in this country (with the manufacturer providing supplies on a "named patient" basis) or is not licensed for a particular indication for which it is to be used. The clinician will do so only after considering the benefit of administering the medicine in relation to the risk involved.
We do not hold information on the use of treatments which have not been the subject of randomised controlled trials.