### Background The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has highlighted the need access to specialist palliative care seven days a week in order improve quality of care, experience outcomes patients their families. (NICE, 2004; NICE, 2015) Little is known about demand seven-day Palliative Clinical Nurse Specialist (PCCNS) service small island \~85 000 residents. Generalist s...

BACKGROUND Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), in its most severe clinical presentation, can result in patients becoming housebound and bedbound so unable to access most available specialist services. This presents particular clinical risks and treatment needs for which the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advises specialist medical care and moni...

Introduction Reimbursement decision making is based on a relative effectiveness assessment (REA), which may be combined with cost-effectiveness assessment, by national Health Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies. These assessments are clinical data where new interventions compared to the current standard of care, differ between countries. Since most pivotal trials only include limited number in...

The requirements of the UK Equality Act 2010 and some high profile criticism for using a potentially ageist methodology have prompted the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to assess the processes and methodology it uses to make appraisal decisions. This paper argues that NICE has established rigorous systems to protect against ageist decisions, has no track record of ...

Background Evidence-informed deliberative processes (EDPs) were recently introduced to guide health technology assessment (HTA) agencies to improve their processes towards more legitimate decision-making. The EDP framework provides guidance that covers the HTA process, ie, contextual factors, installation of an appraisal committee, selecting health technologies and criteria, assessment, a...

### What you need to know Acne vulgaris is the eighth most common disease globally, resulting in >70 000 patients being referred for specialist care UK each year.12 While acne often affects adolescents, it not uncommon adults and can occur children. The clinical features vary depending on its severity associated psychological impact. may persist lead pigmentary changes permanent scarring. This ...

BACKGROUND In 2006 the Department of Health and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidance on the management of childhood obesity, for use by primary care practitioners. Little is known, however, about practitioners' views and experiences of managing childhood obesity in primary care. AIM To explore practitioners' views of primary care as a setting in ...