Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make pyeloplasty for kidney blockages available through the NHS.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published Interventional Procedure (IP) Guidance on the use of laparoscopic pyeloplasty, which is used to treat blockages affecting the kidney, in 2004.

NICE concluded that the evidence on the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic pyeloplasty appeared adequate to support the use of this procedure, provided that the normal arrangements are in place for consent, audit and clinical governance. The guidance can be found at the following link:

www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/IPG46

IP guidance looks at procedures used for diagnosis or treatment. It considers if they are safe and work well enough for wider use in the National Health Service. Whilst compliance with IP guidance is not mandatory, it is considered best clinical practice for the NHS to take it into account.