Written question WQ89177
- Asked by
- Rhys ab OwenIndependent
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 8 days
Question
How is the Welsh Government improving access to medicines to treat symptoms for those with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Health and Social Services
Our highly successful New Treatment Fund continues to ensure every medicine recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) is routinely available within 60 days of their earliest recommendation. We provide £16m to health boards every year to ensure people in Wales have rapid access to cost effective, innovative medicines for all conditions including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
In January, the report Transforming lives, improving health outcomes, published jointly by the NHS Confederation and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, demonstrated Wales has higher levels of uptake of medicines recommended by NICE than any sampled region in England.
Since its launch nearly 500 new treatments have been made available as a result of the fund, with the average time to make a new medicine available in Wales just 16 days.