§ Lord Jacobsasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there are any plans to send National Health Service patients with severe diabetes to Canada for treatment to enable them to cease to need insulin. [HL4955]
§ Lord WarnerThere are no central plans for the National Health Service to send patients with severe diabetes to Canada for treatment to enable them to cease to need insulin. Nevertheless, primary care trusts can authorise overseas treatment for patients outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) but must take account of the following: the condition involved is of a serious nature; suitable treament is not available within the United Kingdom or EEA; the treatment abroad is well established, not merely experimental; there is a probability of significant benefit to the patient.