Devolved NHS Access Pathways
All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre (AWTTC) & All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG)
What they do: These organisations review new medicines and advise the Welsh Government on which treatments should be made available through NHS Wales.
The NICE connection: Wales automatically endorses decisions made by NICE. When NICE approves a new medicine, Welsh local health boards are required to make funding available, usually within two months, so patients can access it.
For further details on Welsh health technology assessments and medicine recommendations, visit: awttc.nhs.wales
Department of Health (Northern Ireland)
What they do: The Department of Health reviews recommendations made by NICE to see how they apply locally in Northern Ireland.
The NICE connection: As a general rule, recommendations made by NICE are routinely endorsed for HSC (NHS) use in Northern Ireland shortly after they are published.
For further details on how NICE guidance is reviewed and endorsed locally, visit: Department of Health NI Technology Appraisals
Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC)
What they do: Scotland operates independently from NICE. The SMC carries out its own reviews for all newly licensed medicines to decide if they should be made available on the NHS in Scotland.
How it compares to NICE: The SMC and NICE reach similar decisions around 90% of the time, though the SMC works on its own timetable, which means decisions in Scotland may be published earlier or later than in England.
Find out more about how new treatments are reviewed for NHS Scotland: Scottish Medicines Consortium
