NICE News for Health and Social Care

 

NICE News for Health and Social Care

News

Further treatment option recommended for preventing migraine

In our final draft guidance, we've recommended atogepant. It's the first of a new type of oral treatment option for preventing both chronic and episodic migraines. Our guidance is set to benefit up to 170,000 NHS patients in England.

New treatment for brain tumours in under 18s recommended
Children and teenagers with an aggressive form of brain cancer are set to benefit after we recommended a new life-extending drug treatment. Dabrafenib with trametinib can be taken at home rather than hospital and improves patients' length and quality of life.

Catch up on our latest news

First ever medicine decommissioned on environmental grounds

NHS England has decommissioned desflurane because of its global warming potential. Desflurane is a general anaesthetic that has a global warming potential 2,500  times greater than carbon dioxide. To support the policy, we’ve published an evidence summary on desflurane for maintenance of anaesthesia. It informed NHS England’s policy on the exceptional circumstances in which continuing to use desflurane is acceptable to ensure patient outcomes are not compromised.

NICE plays an important and influential role in shaping which treatments, technologies and processes the NHS adopts, setting best practice for healthcare professionals. This makes NICE well placed to support the NHS's commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040 for direct emissions and 2045 for indirect emissions.

Read desflurane evidence summary

Into Practice

Establishing healthcare workers’ confidence in AI

In this case study from the AI and Digital Regulations Service, Monica Dolton and Clare Verrill from the University of Oxford discuss their involvement in Articulate Pro. This project aimed to evaluate the deployment of AI within the prostate cancer pathway. The project team trained pathologists to use an AI-based clinical decision support software, helping them read prostate biopsies in live clinical workflows.

The AI and Digital Regulations Service supports the development and widespread adoption of safe, innovative, value-adding technologies in health and social care. It provides useful and useable guidance on how to identify, pilot and rollout such technologies at scale.

Read AI case study

Implementing our guidance on spinal metastases

As part of Medscape UK’s ‘guidelines in practice’ series, NICE committee member, Kate Lacey, discusses the implementation challenges in our updated guideline on spinal metastases and metastatic spinal cord compression. 

Read spinal metastases article

Get Involved

Consultation opens on new approach to developing quality standards

We are consulting on a more proportionate approach to quality standard development for use over the next 2 years. Our proposed interim process guide will enable quality standard development to be more timely, effective and integrated. We may apply it: 

  • when the health and care system needs a new or updated quality standard faster than the current process can deliver. 

  • when the nature and extent of update needed to an existing quality standard requires less resource than the full development process. 

  • to support the integration of selected quality standards into NICE guidelines. 

The consultation is open until Wednesday 15 May 2024.  

Comment on quality standards consultation

Comment on a consultation

Our current consultations include:

Consultation is a key part of our guidance development process. It is only by listening to your unique perspectives that we can create advice that is useful and useable for busy health and care staff, making a real difference to patient care.

See all open consultations

Join a committee

Health and care professionals from a wide range of backgrounds work with NICE to produce our recommendations. Your involvement helps to ensure our guidance is useable in practice. Committee vacancies currently include a colorectal surgeon, interventional radiologist and vascular surgeon to join our interventional procedures advisory committee. Join us and have an active role in producing a guideline or quality standard.

See all committee vacancies

Observe a meeting

Our advisory committee meetings, technology appraisal appeal hearings and public board meetings are open to the public. Holding them in public supports our commitment to having processes in place that are rigorous, open, and transparent.

See all public meetings

Other Resources

Get access to the latest drug information quickly, offline and on-the-go

The BNF + BNFC app provides a personalised experience to help you find the information you need quickly. You can:

  • access the latest clinical information, updated monthly

  • easily switch between BNF and BNF for Children using colour-coded navigation

  • identify drug interactions, with the most important interactions clearly highlighted

  • bookmark records most frequently used.

Download the app

Announcements

Withdrawn guidance and quality standards

Since the start of 2024, we’ve withdrawn the following guidance and quality standards: