§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to implement National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance on photodynamic therapy for age-related macular degeneration. [136158]
§ Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 3 November 2003]Implementation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance has already begun. Patients are already receiving photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment on the national health service and we expect the implementation of the NICE guidance to have been fully implemented by the middle of 2004. We will be working with the NHS to facilitate the implementation to give patients increased access to PDT during this time.
It was the Department's assessment, informed by advice from NICE, that the NHS would be unable to implement the guidance in full within the usual three-month period. We have previously varied the direction on five occasions when it was required to implement effectively the guidance to provide the service to patients.
The extension was given because of concerns about the lack of capacity, for example, in reading centres, to implement the recommendations. Within the nine months allowed for full implementation, commissioners are expected to expand the service in a planned way to ensure there is sufficient capacity which is appropriately located to meet patient need, a fully trained workforce 330W and access to expert diagnostic services. This will include the creation of new, and the expansion of existing, PDT centres and expert reading centres.
The guidance issued to primary care trusts (PCTs) on PDT asks that PCTs should make funds available within nine months. We expect implementation to have been fully achieved within this timeframe, with all eligible patients having access to available treatment. PCTs may complete implementation earlier should their service planning enable them to do so.