Bristol NHS 'causing harm' to patients by withholding thyroid drug

Bristol's NHS commissioning group is one of many across the country which is "causing harm" to people with thyroid problems by limiting the provision of a drug, a new report says.

Analysis from the Thyroid Trust says that 58 per cent of NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups in England are withdrawing, refusing or reducing prescriptions of T3 for people with underactive thyroids - against national guidance. People who have thyroid problems can suffer from depression, crippling fatigue, weight gain and muscle weakness, which can be alleviated by the drug.

But the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG does not permit prescribing the drug for new patients, according to the report. One Westcountry woman told the Express that she had her T3 prescription withdrawn, which caused her significant problems.

Former police officer Carole Morgan-Anstee, 62, told the website she went through "hell" after her T3 was stopped. The Somerset woman was prescribed the drug after suffering symptoms including chronic fatigue and hair loss for 15 years.

But after being treated with T3 for five years, her endocrinologist told her he had been ordered to stop prescribing it for her. He reportedly said the problem was that her local Bristol North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG had began cutting back on T3 supplies.

Carole said: "I was really upset. It was hell. My treatment was completely within the guidelines and he knew how ill I would get if they took it away.

The Thyroid Trust report says: "Around the country most Clinical Commissioning Groups have policies in place which are causing harm to patients by denying treatment. In those cases where this has occurred, patients have resorted to the private sector or to informal means, such as buying the medication online, or even travelling abroad where it is sometimes available to buy over the counter, to source the medicine they need which the NHS should be providing.

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Source: Bristol Post, 15 June 2022