Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for availability on the NHS of a calcium channel blocker to tackle high blood pressure and sepsis.

Calcium channel blockers are a licensed treatment for high blood pressure (hypertension). The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on ‘Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management’, published in 2011, recommends calcium channel blockers for use in the treatment of hypertension.

NICE published a guideline on ‘Sepsis: recognition, diagnosis and early management’ in July 2016 which covers the recognition, diagnosis and early management of sepsis for all populations. The guideline did not include any recommendation to use calcium channel blockers in this condition. In the absence of NICE guidance on the use of a treatment, healthcare professionals will assess scientific research as it emerges but will only change treatment practice when this is supported by evidence.