Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, Cabinet Minister for Health and Care
Today, I am launching a public consultation on proposed amendments to the Selected List Scheme (SLS) in Wales.
The SLS forms part of the statutory prescribing framework governing NHS prescribing in Wales. It restricts the prescribing of a limited number of medicines to specified patient groups or clinical circumstances. Many of these restrictions were introduced to address concerns relating to clinical evidence, patient safety, medicines stewardship or the cost of treatment at the time they were implemented.
As clinical practice, the evidence base and the wider prescribing landscape have evolved, the Welsh Government has undertaken a review of the restrictions currently contained within the SLS. The review has considered whether existing statutory restrictions remain clinically appropriate and proportionate, and whether alternative prescribing governance mechanisms now provide a more suitable means of supporting safe and effective prescribing.
The consultation seeks views on a number of proposed amendments, including the removal of restrictions relating to some obsolete or discontinued medicinal products, the removal of selected statutory prescribing restrictions that may no longer reflect current clinical practice, and the removal of administrative requirements associated with the prescribing of influenza antivirals.
The proposals are intended to ensure that the regulatory prescribing framework remains aligned with contemporary clinical practice, supports timely access to clinically appropriate treatment, and makes appropriate use of existing prescribing governance arrangements, including clinical guidance, formulary management and prescribing oversight mechanisms.
Importantly, the scope of this review has not included the restrictions relating to gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues prescribed to children and young people for the treatment of gender incongruence or gender dysphoria. Accordingly, those restrictions remain unchanged and are outside the scope of this consultation.
The consultation is being published today and will be open for responses until 17 December 2026. I encourage clinicians, healthcare organisations, professional bodies, patients, representative groups and members of the public to review the proposals and provide their views.
The responses received will help inform decisions on whether any amendments to the SLS should be taken forward through future regulations.