Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance he has issued to help clinical commissioning groups ensure that patients who need anticoagulant treatment are given access to the full range of NICE-approved treatments and informed about the range of treatments available to them.

NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have responsibility for services for patients who receive anticoagulation treatments.

It is for individual CCGs to commission treatment and services for patients on anticoagulation treatment or other medications which require monitoring, as they are best placed to identify what is needed in their local areas.

There is guidance in place to support CCGs in planning services for patients who receive anticoagulation treatments. Under its Diagnostics Assessment Programme, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance on self-monitoring of anticoagulation treatments. It has also published updated guidance on the management and treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) which makes recommendations on the use of newer anticoagulants. NHS England expects CCGs to take account of NICE guidance when commissioning services for patients on anticoagulation treatments. Many Strategic Clinical Networks also have programmes in place to support CCGs to develop these services, including the GRASP AF tool and the Anticoagulation Europe’s report will help drive forward improvements in this area.