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Individual Patient Funding Requests (IPFR)

Every year Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board receives an NHS budget allocated to us by the Welsh Government to pay for our local population’s health services.

In addition, the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) plan and provide specialised and tertiary services on behalf of Health Board in Wales to reduce duplication and ensure consistency.

Unfortunately the demand for NHS services is always greater than the money available, so we have to prioritise the use of funds carefully as it is not possible to fund every available treatment.

Whilst the vast majority of treatment and services that patients need are offered routinely on the NHS, there may be some cases where a decision has been taken not to routinely provide the treatment. This may be because there is limited evidence for how well the treatment works in those patients or because the treatment is very expensive and doesn’t offer good value for money for the NHS.

There will also be instances where a treatment is still very new and a decision hasn’t been taken yet on whether it should be offered routinely on the NHS in Wales.

Your GP or hospital consultant can ask us, on your behalf, to fund a treatment that we would not normally provide for you on the NHS in Wales. The NHS Wales Policy, Making Decisions on Individual Patient Funding Requests (IPFR), clearly sets out how these requests are dealt with, and how an application can be made:

Interventions Not Normally Undertaken (INNU)

Making the best use of our resources and prioritising funds is an essential part of our work. The NHS has historically identified treatments that are deemed to have no or limited proven benefit. These are routinely considered to be a low priority and will not normally be undertaken.

A list of these treatments can be found in Appendix 1 of the  Interventions Not Normally Undertaken (INNU) Policy (MD17).

Exceptions do apply. You may be eligible to receive funding for treatments that appear on the list if:

  • You meet certain clinical criteria
  • There is evidence that your clinical circumstances are such that you fulfil the criteria outlined in the IPFR policy

Contact

The best person to talk to about your healthcare and whether an IPFR or request for treatment in the EEA should be made is your GP or Hospital Consultant.

If you wish to discuss any of the policies mentioned above, please contact the IPFR Team:

Email: BCU.IPFR@wales.nhs.uk
Telephone: 01745 448788 ext (7930)

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board,
IPFR Team - Office of the Medical Director,
Block 22, Glan Clwyd Hospital,
Sarn Lane, Bodelwyddan,
LL18 5UJ

Please note they will not be able to discuss your healthcare because they are not clinically trained but will be able to talk to you about how a request for treatment can be made and considered.

Making a Request for Treatment in the European Economic Area (EEA)

The “All Wales Procedure for Welsh Patients Accessing Treatment in Countries of the European Economic Area” ceased at 11pm on 31st December 2020.

S2 arrangements continue as before with the exception of the EFTA countries and Switzerland.

For further details and advice, please contact the IPFR Team via BCU.IPFR@wales.nhs.uk