Northern Ireland

There is no Northern Ireland equivalent to NICE, SMC or AWMSG . In practice, most NICE decisions are implemented locally, meaning that a positive NICE decision should lead to reimbursement in Northern Ireland. Though this should not affect a brand’s overarching UK launch and communications strategy, it is important to know the local stakeholder bodies that operate in Northern Ireland and how they engage with NICE and the NHS.

Northern Ireland’s Payer Stakeholders

In Northern Ireland, the national health service is known as Health and Social Care (HSC). It provides health services and medicines free of charge to residents. These services are delivered by five HSC trusts, distributed by region: Belfast, South Eastern, Southern, Northern and Western.

Since 2006 the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (HPSS), a part of HSC, reached a formal arrangement in which it reviews NICE decisions to determine whether they are locally applicable. Any required amendments are made and the decision then ratified and reflected by local HSC trusts. The policy methodology, however, states that it is not a reassessment of NICE evidence but rather a proofing.

Important Points to Keep in Mind

There is no separate Health Technology Appraisal (HTA) body in Northern Ireland that assesses medicines for use within the HSC. Northern Ireland essentially adopts NICE guidance after confirming it is applicable locally, despite NICE not formally considering Northern Ireland when developing its guidance.

Implications for Industry

For the purposes of reimbursement, you may consider Northern Ireland to be similar to a region of England in that it will in the main adopt NICE guidance and has no set, national methodology for conducting HTA in the absence of NICE guidance. However, awareness of the local context and identification of stakeholders that apply NICE guidance across the UK will help ensure smoother product launch and uptake.

The GLOBALHealthPR team has years of experience in Northern Ireland, all the other countries of the UK, and other EU markets and can offer valuable insights to your marketing and market access teams.