https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/press-releases/great-ormond-street-hospital-s-response-guidance-use-cannabis-based-products-medicinal-use-children/

Great Ormond Street Hospital’s response to guidance on the use of cannabis-based products for medicinal use in children and young people with epilepsy

21 Jan 2019, 4:53 p.m.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Trust logo 2018

As a neurology consultant group at GOSH we welcome the publication of the “Guidance on the use of cannabis‐based products for medicinal use in children and young people with epilepsy” by the British Paediatric Neurology Association (BPNA), it is positive to have this framework in place.

In accordance with this policy document we consider only purified Cannabidiol for patients with very difficult to treat epilepsy, who are not candidates for epilepsy surgery, vagus nerve stimulation treatment or the ketogenic diet.

Currently we are awaiting further guidance from NICE and NHS England that will address questions of funding and prescription for patients. In general, purified Cannabidiol is not available for prescription apart from in a very few limited cases where expert clinicians deem it suitable.

Please note the guidance note above is the very latest and supersedes the previous press release we issued on 31 October 2018 - see historic press release on GOSH website.

Contact Information

For further information please contact the GOSH-ICH Press Office on 020 7239 3039.

For genuine and urgent out-of-hours queries call switchboard on 020 7405 9200.

Notes to Editors

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust is the country’s leading centre for treating sick children, with the widest range of specialists under one roof.

With the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, we are the largest centre for paediatric research outside the US and play a key role in training children’s health specialists for the future.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity needs to raise money to support the hospital to give children who need help the most the best chance for life. The charity funds patient and family support programmes, provides the latest medical equipment and supports the essential redevelopment of the hospital. It has also launched a five-year strategy to support research in some of the most serious and complex childhood diseases. Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is the largest dedicated funder of paediatric research in the UK and our work is entirely funded through the generosity of supporter donations. For more information visit www.gosh.org