GLUTEN-FREE PRESCRIPTIONS

That this House recognises that people with coeliac disease, for whom the only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet for life, must have access to gluten-free prescriptions to maintain their health; notes that without access to prescriptions the most vulnerable people, those on low incomes, the elderly and those with mobility problems, will suffer most as confirmed by independent research; considers that the potential health risk to patients, including osteoporosis, infertility and cancer of the small bowel, may cost the NHS more in the long run; calls for the maintenance of gluten-free prescriptions on the NHS; and further calls for the consideration of a national gluten-free prescribing scheme for England and renewed efforts to improve recognition of coeliac disease by primary care health services.