§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines the Government has issued to primary care trusts on prescribing TNFa to arthritis sufferers. [133919]
§ Dr. LadymanThe Department has not issued guidelines on the dispensing of anti-TNF drugs. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidance on these drugs in March 2002. They recommended that consultant rheumatologists, or consultant paediatric rheumatologists in the case of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, should prescribe these drugs, in accordance with the guidelines set out by the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) or British Paediatric Rheumatology Group (BPRG).
The Government expect NICE guidance to be implemented in all areas as expeditiously as possible.