NICE consultations
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on treatments and care for those using the NHS in England and Wales. Its guidance is for healthcare professionals, patients, and their carers, to help them make decisions about treatment and healthcare.
NICE guidance and recommendations are prepared by independent groups that include professionals working in the NHS and people who are familiar with the issues affecting patients and carers. The Royal College of Pathologists aims to contribute to all consultations of relevance to pathology.
The College seeks expert advice from its members in order, to constructively inform the preparation of clinical guidelines, health technology appraisals, diagnostic technologies, and quality standards. Expert pathology input and advice is requested in the form of the review of draft documentation or attending meetings where these drafts are to be discussed.
NICE helps practitioners to get the best care to patients, fast, while ensuring value for the taxpayer.
They do this by:
- producing useful and usable guidance for health and care practitioners
- providing rigorous, independent assessment of complex evidence for new health technologies
- developing recommendations that focus on what matters most and drive innovation into the hands of health and care practitioners.
- encouraging the uptake of best practice to improve outcomes for everyone.
NICE guidelines are evidence-based recommendations for health and care in England.
They set out the care and services suitable for most people with a specific condition or need, and people in particular circumstances or settings.
The guidelines help health and social care professionals to:
- prevent ill health.
- promote and protect good health.
- improve the quality of care and services.
- adapt and provide health and social care services.
The guidelines are based on the best available evidence. Recommendations are put together by experts, people using services, carers and the public.
Each guideline is developed according to a process that starts from the topic being chosen and extends to any future guideline updates.
Guideline types
- clinical
- social care
- public health
- medicines practice
- cancer services
- antimicrobial prescribing.