Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NICE Implementation Collaborative report, Supporting local implementation of NICE Technology Appraisal 325 on reducing alcohol consumption in adults with alcohol dependence, what progress his Department has made on implementing guidance on (a) encouraging the prescription of nalmefene and (b) reducing complexity in the provision of alcohol-treatment services within the NHS.
Public Health England is working with the Department and the devolved administrations to develop comprehensive United Kingdom guidelines for the clinical management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence. The guidelines are due to be published in 2021.
The aim of the guidelines is to develop a clear consensus on good practice and help services to implement interventions for alcohol use disorders that are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). More information on the development of the guidelines can be viewed at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-alcohol-clinical-guidelines-development-begins
NICE undertook a surveillance review of its guideline on alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking (high-risk drinking) and alcohol dependence [CG115] in July 2019, and the decision was made to not update the guideline. While the review found several studies on naltrexone, NICE considered that the new evidence was unlikely to change the current guideline recommendations. Unless presented with new evidence, NICE has no immediate plans to review CG115.