The new policy comes as a result of an evaluation of the IFR process which found that the existing exceptionality criteria should be amended to remove the reference to 95%; the establishment of regional scrutiny committee should be considered to ensure all IFR applications are subject to regionally consistent clinical input which includes peer review and that the existing IFR guidance should be revised to include greater transparency.
The draft policy sets out the criteria and the key features under which IFRs should be considered and provides clarity and guidance on a number of areas relating to an IFR application. The draft user guide will help to provide a clearer, more user friendly explanation of the process.
While the draft policy document and service user guide are out for consultation, the Department of Health will be progressing work to establish the Regional Scrutiny Committee which will be the new body responsible for making recommendations on Individual Funding Requests.
This consultation is seeking views of all stakeholders on the policy.