Migraine Care: 10-year Health Plan Debate
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Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
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Migraine Care: 10-year Health Plan
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts(1 day, 9 hours ago)
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Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)
My Lords, my noble friend the Minister, very welcomely talked in her first response about widening access to treatment. My understanding is that NICE guidelines can be very tight for some of those treatments. As part of the work she has put forward, can my noble friend ask NICE to review its guidelines to make sure they are absolutely up to speed?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
As I know my noble friend is well aware, the eligibility criteria are set independently by NICE. They are based on clinical evidence and cost-effectiveness, rather than being set by Ministers. However, it is worth saying that the introduction of oral CGRPs, which do not require specialist initiation, will significantly widen access through primary care and reduce the bottlenecks in the system. We are very keen that people can access effective drugs, and I take on board the point my noble friend made.