What we do and don't fund

When we spend money on health and care services for the people of Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, we take into account the needs of the whole population.

The demand for our services is always greater than the money we have available, so it is not possible for us to fund every available treatment. This means we sometimes have to make difficult decisions regarding which treatments are routinely provided.

To help us do this, we use national and local policies to ensure the treatments, operations or drugs we commission offer the most benefit to the largest number of people, while also ensuring the process is fair.

We know, however, that there are times when you could benefit from a particular treatment that is not usually funded by us. Your GP or Consultant may make a request on your behalf for such a treatment if they feel there are exceptional clinical circumstances related to your case. This request is called an Exceptional Funding Request (EFR).

View If I pay for private treatment, how will my NHS care be affected?

View the BSW ICB - Exceptional Funding Requests, Prior Approval & Criteria Based Access Policy

View the Statement on European Cross Border Health Care

View advice for Getting as fit as possible for surgery

View the General Principles for Funding Approval

View the BSW CP091 - Management of patients moving in and out of BSW

View the Medicines Management Team Advisory Summary for Private Treatments

Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB Funding Policies

For a small number of treatments, individual policies for each locality still apply. View locality-specific policies for BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire.

Locality Specific Policies

BaNES Policies

Please note: RUH tier 3 Weight Management is now open to direct referral for all of the BSW geography

Swindon Policies

None listed.

Wiltshire Policies

None listed.