AWTTC publishes IPFR Annual Report 2021-2022
Reporting on the work of the Individual Patient Funding Request (IPFR) teams across Health Boards and the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) for patients in Wales, the latest annual report has been compiled by the All Wales Therapeutics and Toxicology Centre (AWTTC). In another challenging year for the NHS in Wales IPFR panels have continued to provide a timely and efficient service.
We report on the numbers and types of requests for treatments considered by the eight Welsh IPFR panels over the year. Headline data show:
- In 2021-2022 a total of 315 IPFRs were considered by panels, a slight decrease compared with the previous year. The reduction was mainly driven by a decrease in requests for positron emission tomography (PET) scans, likely due to publication of a new WHSSC commissioning policy.
- The number of requests for medicines increased for a second year running, this may reflect a need to change treatments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The number of IPFRs approved remained stable at 75%.
- Outcome measures were reported for 15% of all IPFRs considered; 80% of patients reported an improvement in quality of life.
The report also describes activities associated with the IPFR service. The IPFR Quality Assurance group met quarterly to assess randomly selected IPFRs for compliance with the All Wales IPFR Policy. In 2021-2022, despite a dip in criteria met in January to March 2021, most likely as a result of the winter pandemic surge, IPFR panels continue to score highly in all areas assessed. AWTTC hosted the 2021 IPFR Workshop which was held online, presentations and videos are available on the AWTTC website. The report also describes the work of the One Wales Medicines Process which considered one new medicine and 11 reviews.
Prof James Coulson, Clinical Director, AWTTC said: “The year 2021–2022 continued to be a challenge for the NHS in Wales. The COVID-19 pandemic adding strain to our service but in itself also challenged how we operated in the NHS and resulted in many changes to practice for the better. The practice of moving to virtual panel meetings continued for many Individual Patient Funding Request (IPFR) panels and it will be interesting to see whether panels continue along the same vein going forward. It is reassuring to see that, despite the external pressures placed on the panel members, the quality of the IPFRs considered and the process behind them continues to improve.”
Read the full 2021-2022 IPFR Annual Report