Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 15 December 2022 (HL4328), what assessment they have made of whether the NHS Devon Integrated Care Board has sufficiently taken account in its policies to support patients with hypothyroidism; and in particular, whether the Board has ensured that (1) national recommendations to not alter medication if a patient is stable on thyroid treatment are followed, (2) blanket reductions in the T3 dose to 10 μcg for all patients do not take place regardless of (a) individual needs, or (b) the recommendations of NICE, which gives 10μcg as a starting dose, rising up to 60μcg as necessary, and (3) regardless of whether patients can take levothyroxine or not, it is substituted it for (a) armour thyroid medicine, or (b) doses of T3 in excess of 10μcg.

No assessment has been made. Decisions about prescribing are made with the healthcare professional concerned, who has clinical responsibility for that particular aspect of a patient’s care. Prescribers must ensure that the medicines considered appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed and take account of the appropriate national guidance on clinical effectiveness and the local commissioning decisions of their respective integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England formally oversees ICBs and has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB and publish their findings.