Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-07-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that the operation to remove fibroids by MR Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS) be available on the NHS.

Jane Ellison

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for determining clinical commissioning policy (including the availability of, or eligibility for, NHS funded treatment) on fibroid treatments. Local CCGs decide on how to best use funding allocated to them, underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs.

The Department is aware that in November 2011, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published Interventional Procedures Guidance [IPG413]: Magnetic resonance image-guided transcutaneous focused ultrasound for uterine fibroids.

The Department expects CCGs to consider any relevant NICE guidance as they design services to meet the needs of patients.