Immunosuppression: Health Services

(asked on 12th May 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of UK care standards for immunocompromised patients; what assessment they have made of these in comparison to international standards; and what assessment they have made of the failure to provide pre-exposure prophylactic treatments to eligible patients.


Answered by
Lord Kamall Portrait
Lord Kamall
This question was answered on 26th May 2022

The United Kingdom has made treatments available to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death for patients whose immune system means they are at the highest risk from COVID-19. Eligible patients who test positive for COVID-19 will be contacted by a clinician from a COVID Medicines Delivery Unit to discuss treatment suitability. The clinically eligible cohorts have been determined by an independent expert group commissioned by the Department and included in a clinical policy agreed by the UK Chief Medical Officers.

The Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce engages with other nations to share learning on the use, deployment and evaluation of therapeutics and antivirals. This includes monitoring whether and how other countries are using pre-exposure prophylactic treatments which may inform our policy on its use.

The Department is currently evaluating prophylaxis through the efficacy of the drug Evusheld. Before a decision is made to introduce a prophylactic treatment, it must be clinically cost effective and demonstrate sufficient efficacy against Omicron and new variants. However, no specific assessment has been made of the failure to provide such treatments. The Therapeutics Clinical Review Panel provides advice on the most appropriate patient cohorts for new COVID-19 therapies, including preventative treatments. Final clinical policies and eligibility would be proposed by the National Health Service and agreed by the UK Chief Medical Officers.

Reticulating Splines