The local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) receive money from the Government to pay for healthcare for everyone registered with a GP. Their job is to get best value for this money by spending it wisely on your behalf. Demand for healthcare is growing, but there is only a set amount of money available to spend so difficult decisions may have to be made.

The priority is paying for those medicines and treatments that are proven to work well, can demonstrate they improve peoples’ health and offer good value for money. As a result there are some treatments the local CCGs do not normally commission.

Visit the website which explains how a GP or consultant can ask, on the patient’s behalf, for treatments that are not normally funded locally on the NHS. This is called an Individual Funding Request (IFR).

The process is managed on behalf of the local CCGs by the IFR team within South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit.

The website is for patients, the public and clinicians in Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Swindon. For further information visit www.chilternccg.nhs.uk/individual-funding-requests.

Tower House Surgery is a member of the Chiltern Clinical Commisioning Group.