Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with NHS England concerning the policy of the NHS Devon Integrated Care Board to withdraw funding from the prescribing of Armour Thyroid medicine for the treatment of hypothyroidism.

There are no current plans to have discussions with NHS England. NHS Devon Integrated Care Board has policies in place to support patients with hypothyroidism and follows national guidance which states that there is no convincing evidence to support routine use of thyroid extracts, armour thyroid, in managing hypothyroidism.

The National Institute for Care and Excellence (NICE) recommends that natural thyroid extract should not be offered for the management of primary hypothyroidism as there is not enough evidence that it offers benefits over levothyroxine. Natural thyroid extract does not have a United Kingdom marketing authorisation.