Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they propose to take to ensure that the High Weald, Lewes and Havens Clinical Commissioning Group withdraws its policy of no longer making Liothyronine (T3) available to NHS patients, contrary to advice issued by NHS England which sets out the circumstances under which Liothyronine (T3) can be prescribed to new patients and continued for existing patients.

The national guidelines advise clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) that local decisions should be made regarding arrangements for the on-going prescribing of liothyronine, taking into account the local needs of the population. While CCGs are expected to have regard to national guidance, they are entitled to develop their own local approaches to its implementation. During a debate on 20 June on the Branded Health Service Medicines (Costs) Regulations, I committed to pursuing further with NHS England ways in which they can clarify the guidelines on the prescribing of liothyronine to CCGs, including looking at whether greater clarity on the criteria for appropriate patient usage is merited.

The prescribing of Liothyronine (T3) was considered by the Sussex and East Surrey Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) clinical board, which covers Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, and High Weald, Lewes and Havens CCG, following engagement with primary care clinicians and endocrinologists. Based on the evidence presented, the decision not to routinely prescribe Liothyronine (T3) was supported across the STP region. It was, however, recognised that there would be some exceptions to this and that the use of the individual funding request triage process would be an appropriate mechanism to consider these.