Tuesday 5 April 2005

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) today welcomes the announcement of additional topics for its forward work programme. Topics - including the first on public health since the Institute took on a wider role on 1 April 2005 in developing guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health - were referred by the Secretary of State for Health in line with the national priorities established for the NHS.

Once these topics have been referred, the development of the subsequent advice is entirely the responsibility of NICE.

Topics referred to NICE

Public health interventions

  • An assessment of four commonly used methods to increase physical activity: brief interventions in primary care, pedometers, exercise referral schemes and community based exercise programmes for walking and cycling.
  • An assessment of interventions (including screening) to reduce the transmission of Chlamydia and other STIs and to reduce the rate of under eighteen conceptions, especially among vulnerable and at risk groups.
  • An assessment of brief interventions and referral for smoking cessation in primary care (including pharmacy and dental services as well as GPs surgeries) and other settings with particular reference to pregnant smokers and disadvantaged groups and the tailoring and targeting of interventions.

Public health programmes

  • Guidance on the optimal provision of smoking cessation services including the provision of NRT, for primary care, pharmacies, local authorities and workplaces with particular reference to manual groups, pregnant smokers and hard to reach communities.
  • Guidance for midwives, health visitors, pharmacists and other primary care services to improve the nutrition of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and children in low income households.
  • The most appropriate means of generic and specific interventions to support attitude and behaviour change at population and community levels.

Technology appraisals

  • Gemcitabine for breast cancer
  • Docetaxal and paclitaxel for the treatment of early breast cancer
  • Rituximab for the treatment of low grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
  • Erlotinib and permetrexed for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer
  • Cinacalcet HCl for Hyperparathyroidism
  • Ezetimibe for Hypercholesteremia
  • Drugs for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension
  • Stapled haemorrhoidectomy for the treatment of haemorrhoids

Clinical guidelines

  • Management of eczema in children
  • Management of meningococcal disease and meningitis in children and adolescents in primary and secondary care
  • Management of peri-operative hypothermia
  • Medicines concordance

NICE will begin developing guidance on the topics referred today as soon as possible, and the Institute will publish details of the timetables for these topics on its web site shortly

Full details of the process that is followed by the Department of Health when selecting topics for NICE can be found on the Department of Health's website at: http://www.dh.gov.uk.

NICE and its role in public health

NICE took on responsibility for developing public health guidance on 1 April 2005 when the Institute took on the functions of the Health Development Agency to create a single excellence-in-practice organisation responsible for providing national guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health.

NICE produces guidance in three areas of health.

  • Public health - guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention of ill health for those working in the NHS, local authorities and the wider public and voluntary sector.
  • Health technologies - guidance on the use of new and existing medicines, treatments and procedures within the NHS.
  • Clinical practice - guidance on the appropriate treatment and care of people with specific diseases and conditions within the NHS.

NICE has already launched public consultation on how public health guidance will be produced. The consultation document was published on the NICE website on 21 March 2005 at www.nice.org.uk/publichealthconsultation for a three month public consultation period which ends on 10 June 2005.