Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on patients with non-tuberculous mycobacteria should there be a delay to the next meeting of the NHS England's Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.

No formal assessment has been made. Patients with non-tuberculous mycobacteria will continue to be managed in primary and secondary care settings and treated with the current available treatments known as ‘Guideline Based Therapy’ as recommended by the British Thoracic Society.

The British Thoracic Society guideline for the use of longterm macrolides in adults with respiratory disease suggests that patients who are able to expectorate should be considered for testing for non-tuberculous mycobacteria prior to starting long-term macrolide therapy. A copy of the guideline is attached. NHS England and NHS Improvement do not hold data on the number of tests undertaken.