New control-of-entry arrangements in Scotland likely by the summer

New arrangements for control of entry to the NHS pharmaceutical list are likely to be put in place in Scotland by this summer, it was announced in the Scottish Parliament yesterday (30 April 2014).

In answer to a Parliamentary question, the Minister for Public Health Michael Matheson said that an independent analysis of responses to the recent consultation on control of entry has been completed.

“It has highlighted complex and competing views, and issues have been expressed across the range of respondents that are extremely helpful in informing how we move forward. We will announce very shortly how we intend to take forward an amended framework for control of entry that we believe will best meet the service needs of communities throughout Scotland. It will build on the themes, and the responses to those themes, that were tested in the consultation exercise,” he explained.

Mr Matheson added: “Key aspects of the control-of-entry framework will, as we move forward, be underpinned by amended regulations, which we aim to lay before Parliament—and which should come into force—before summer recess this year.”