§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
What appraisal they had from National Institute for Clinical Excellence of the clinical effectiveness of Visudyne in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD); to how many AMD patients it is recommended that treatment should now become available and on what terms; and what action they are taking. [HL5074]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)The National Institute for Clinical Excellence's (NICE) appraisal of photodynamic therapy has been extended to allow further consideration of the draft guidance. It is likely that the guidance will not now be available before January 2003.
Guidance issued in August 1999 to all National Health Service bodies asked them to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies where there was no guidance from NICE at the time. These arrangements should involve an assessment of all the relevant factors including the available evidence on effect.