§ Lord Fearnasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will allow National Health Service patients under the age of 65 with osteoporosis to be prescribed the drug forsteo as a hormonal agent for osteoporosis; and [HL3046]
Whether they support the proposals by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to restrict prescriptions of forsteo to those under 65 years of age. [HL3047]
§ Baroness AndrewsThe National Institute for Clinical Excellence's consultation document does not constitute its formal guidance on this technology. The recommendations are preliminary and may change after the consultation. As a registered stakeholder of the guidance, the Department of Health has responded 31WA to the consultation and it would be inappropriate to comment further on this draft guidance.
§ Lord Fearnasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they plan to reduce the waiting time of up to 12 months for bone scans prior to the issue of drugs for osteoporosis patients. [HL3048]
§ Baroness AndrewsData of waiting times for diagnostic tests are not collected centrally; however data may be collected locally by some strategic health authorities.