Release of NHS national formularies in Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

Is there a timescale on the release of the West of Scotland formulary (NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Dumfries & Galloway, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire), and will individual health boards still be reviewing their own formularies in the mean time?

Is there a timescale on the release of the North of Scotland formulary (NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Western Isles), and will individual health boards still be reviewing their own formularies in the mean time?

Contact details for best person to speak to regarding formulary approvals for the above.

Response

The Scottish Government are supporting NHS Health Boards in working collaboratively on the development of regional medicine formularies. This work has seen the East Region (NHS Borders, NHS Fife and NHS Lothian) develop and launch Scotland’s first regional medicines formulary.

In relation to your request for timescales on the release of the West of Scotland formulary, early discussions are ongoing with Health Boards in the West of Scotland (NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Dumfries & Galloway, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire) around commencing work on a second regional formulary. As discussions in the West of Scotland are still in the early stages, no specific timeline can be provided at present for this work. In the meantime, Health Boards in the West region continue to manage their local formularies as normal.

In relation to your request for timescales on the release of the North of Scotland formulary, I can confirm that the current focus is on progressing regional work in the West of Scotland. This means that no regional formulary work is currently ongoing in the North region and as such no timeline can be provided at present. Each Health Board in the North region is therefore continuing to manage their local formulary as normal.

In relation to contact details for formulary approvals, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 25(1) of Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) we do not have to supply information which is otherwise accessible to you. Contact details for queries related to a local formulary can be found on each Health Board formulary website.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.