The government is removing restrictions to ensure that flu medicines are available for patients at any time of the year.
This is being done to allow patients to receive treatment sooner and protect the NHS from winter pressures.
The government is removing the restriction that certain flu medications can be prescribed only during the ‘flu season’.
The move is to slash unnecessary bureaucracy in the health service and put power back in the hands of clinicians on the frontline.
While the number of flu outbreaks outside of the ‘flu season’ in October to March is relatively low, the potential outcomes are no less severe.
Removing these barriers will enable the NHS to respond more quickly to health challenges year-round, strengthening its preparation for winter.
Until now, GPs and pharmacies had to be commissioned via a patient-specific direction to prescribe certain medicines, which led to delays.
Now clinicians can prescribe and dispense antivirals such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) even outside the flu season.
This move coincides with the NHS launching this year’s improved flu vaccine programme from 1 September.
The rollout kicks off with flu vaccines for millions of children and pregnant women.
And it follows the recent introduction of the chickenpox vaccine for thousands of children and the RSV vaccine for pregnant women and older adults across the country.
