Open consultation Options to restrict or stop the routine prescribing of selected medicines in primary care

Summary

This consultation is seeking your views on proposals aimed at reviewing the prescribing of selected medicines, which Departmental guidance considers having low and limited clinical value, from General Practitioner (GP) practices in primary care in Northern Ireland.
The Department values all views, however, the views from all those who may be directly affected by these proposals, as well as those who have direct or indirect influence on prescribing decisions, such as GPs, community pharmacy teams, and other HSC primary care providers are particularly welcome.

Documents

• Consultation document Adobe PDF (452 KB)
• Consultation Response template Microsoft Word (136 KB)
• Equality Screening document Adobe PDF (489 KB)
• Rural Impact screening document Adobe PDF (303 KB)

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Consultation description

Medicines costs in Northern Ireland (NI) are increasing annually and have now reached over £870 million per year, an increase of 43% over the last decade. Prescribing rates and costs per person remain consistently higher than in other regions within the UK. Without further action, the Health and Social Care (HSC) service will face increasing difficulty in funding new and often high-cost treatments while meeting the needs of a growing and ageing population.

The Department of Health published “Valuing Medicines: A strategy for the sustainable use of medicines in Northern Ireland” in September 2025 to ensure medicines are used in a way that is clinically effective, environmentally sustainable, and delivers the best outcomes for patients and the health service. 

The strategy highlights that some prescribing offers limited or no clinical value, may expose patients to avoidable harm, and diverts finite resources from higher value interventions. It also contributes to negative environmental impacts. 

Despite this and the publication of existing guidance, such as formulary controls and Limited Evidence and Stop lists, the prescribing of such items continues across NI, resulting in avoidable expenditure and misalignment with the Department’s cost-effective prescribing policies.

Your views and responses to this consultation will help the Department determine appropriate actions to take to restrict or stop the prescribing of low and limited clinical value medicines, which will help improve value for money, reduce waste and associated environmental impacts, strengthen clinical effectiveness and support the long-term sustainability of the HSC system.