The NICE Interventional Procedures Programme covers Scotland as well as England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It assesses the safety and efficacy of interventional procedures.
Interventional Procedures Guidance
Access all Interventional Procedures Guidance from NICE's website
About the NICE Interventional Procedures Programme
What is an interventional procedure?
An interventional procedure is a procedure used for diagnosis or treatment that involves one of the following:
- Making a cut or a hole to gain access to the inside of a patient's body - for example, when carrying out an operation or inserting a tube into a blood vessel.
- Gaining access to a body cavity (such as the digestive system, lungs, womb or bladder) without cutting into the body - for example, examining or carrying out treatment on the inside of the stomach using an instrument inserted via the mouth.
- Using electromagnetic radiation (which includes X-rays, lasers, gamma-rays and ultraviolet light) - for example using a laser to treat eye problems.
NICE guidance in Scotland
The Scottish Executive issued a letter to all NHS boards, HDL (2004) 04 advising clinicians planning to undertake an interventional procedure that they have not previously performed, should seek approval from their organisation’s Clinical Governance Committee before doing so. If NICE has not issued guidance on the procedure then the Chair of this Committee should notify the procedure to the Interventional Procedures Programme (IPP) at the NICE website www.nice.org.uk/ip . If guidance has been issued then the Committee should ensure the Board’s programme followed the guidance. The letter adds that NHS boards should support the collection of audit and research data on interventional procedures as required under the NICE guidance.
