The Department of Health and Social Care is looking to partner with an on-Island community pharmacy to provide an import and dispensing service locally for Cannabis Based Medicinal Products (CBMP).
This means that patients with private prescriptions for medicinal cannabis products will be able to access products on-Island through a quality assured and accredited dispensary process.
The Department is seeking an on island pharmacy based service to operate the scheme as a pilot for a minimum of 12 months – to import and dispense products, develop a robust governance process and help collect data and evidence of current needs to shape future services.
A public consultation in 2019 by the Department showed support for the idea of providing a route for patients to obtain cannabis based medicinal products on prescription and this is the next stage in the journey of enabling this on Island.
Isle of Man residents seeking CBMP will need to do so via a private prescription from a private clinic in the United Kingdom or Crown Dependencies, by clinicians who are on the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council (GMC) and who can prescribe such products.
At this time prescriptions for any CBMP will not be available on the NHS from the Department or Manx Care, as the NHS on the Island does not routinely fund non-NICE approved treatments. Residents will be personally responsible for paying for these private prescriptions.
Expressions of interest will be open on 30 March, any pharmacy interested in providing this local service are invited to respond through the online procurement portal. Full details of the requirements and expectations can be found on the procurement webpage.
All applications should be submitted before the closing date on 20 April 2022.
