Evidence Based Interventions (EBI) Programme

for Interventions Not Normally Funded (INNF)

The Evidence Based Interventions (EBI) programme for Interventions Not Normally Funded (INNF) on the NHS

The EBI programme is a national initiative led by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) to improve the quality of care for patients.

The EBI programme was developed in 2018 to assist with funding for surgical and non-surgical interventions that are not normally funded (INNF) within the NHS. You can find more information on the AoMRC website.

EBI principles

The EBI programme was developed in 2018 to help ensure a national approach to quality improvement takes place and that best practice is spread across the healthcare system. From the outset it had the following key principles:

Improve the quality of care for everyone.

Reduce the risk of harm to patients.

Minimise unwarranted variation in service provision.

Optimise the use of finite resources and ensure any money saved is spent on other, more effective treatments.

Why are some interventions not normally funded on the NHS?

The NHS strives to make best use of its limited resources and provide treatments that are safe and effective for patients whilst also being cost effective for the NHS.

Some interventions are NOT routinely available on the NHS because clinical evidence has shown that the clinical benefit of some interventions for most patients is small and there is little value to the patient or the NHS.

The NHS regularly reviews the clinical evidence of the interventions that it provides to ensure all patients benefit from treatment in the best possible way.

Our NHS Commitment to Somerset Patients

At NHS Somerset we are committed to making the best use of limited NHS resources to improve the health of Somerset’s population. We aim to provide the best and most effective interventions for patients with a clinical health need in a safe and cost-effective way so that all patients can receive:

‘The right treatment at the right time’

If you have a health condition that concerns you, you should contact your GP to discuss your health concern.

If your GP or specialist clinician recommend an intervention not normally funded (INNF) by the NHS as the best treatment option for you; they can send an individual funding request (IFR) to the Evidence Based Interventions (EBI) Team at NHS Somerset.

The EBI Team at NHS Somerset administer all INNF funding requests received by GPs and specialist clinicians.

The EBI Team follows a robust and equitable local decision-making pathway to enable all patients with a demonstrated clinical healthcare need, to receive the treatment option recommended for them by their GP or clinician.

EBI local decision-making pathway

EBI Decision-making Pathway

Pre-screening

To ensure the correct patient details and referring GP /clinician signature is provided in the application.

Screening

To assess the clinical evidence provided in the application against the relevant clinical commissioning policy criteria.

Clinical triage to the EBI Clinical Lead

To enable a more informed decision to be taken on a particular individual funding request as appropriate.

Clinical triage to the EBI Panel (EBIP)

EBIP Terms of Reference

Reconsideration by the EBI Panel

Right of Appeal

Appeals Panel Terms of Reference

Evidence Based Interventions (EBI) Treatment Pathways

Patients can access one of three referral to treatment pathways in Somerset for interventions not normally funded (INNF) by the NHS.

Prior Approval (PA) Pathway

Generic EBI Pathway

Generic EBI funding requests require funding in place before a patient can receive a referral for a particular intervention. Generic EBI funding requests are subject to approval based on clinical evidence to support ‘Clinical Exceptionality’.

Clinical Exceptionality is ...

A patient, who has a medical condition of which their clinical circumstances are exceptional when compared to a cohort of patients with the same condition.

Criteria Based Access (CBA) Pathway

There are currently 70 surgical and non-surgical interventions that are not normally funded by the NHS available to patients in Somerset.

Please see below for an A-Z list of available surgical and non-surgical Evidence Based Interventions.