GETTING gluten free bread on the NHS could be a thing of the past for Swindon coeliacs.

Swindon NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, which pays the healthcare costs for around 230,000 people living in the town and the surrounding area, is considering cutting the prescription of gluten-free foods to those who have been diagnosed with coeliac disease.

Those suffering from the condition, which causes gluten intolerance, were previously able to get gluten-free products by prescription when pastas, breads and flour made without gluten were harder to buy in the shops.

But prescribing gluten-free foods costs Swindon NHS around £113,000. Now, Swindon CCG is consulting on plans to stop prescribing the food items to everyone except vulnerable adults and under-18s.

In a consultation plan shared with councillors on the health scrutiny committee, the CCG said this would “provide a more significant saving for the CCG while still allowing gluten free prescribing for under 18-year-olds and vulnerable adults”.

The CCG added: “As commissioners, we have a limited budget with which to deliver high-quality local health services which are able to cope with the annual increase in demand for services.”

A government review has previously suggested NHS commissioners fund gluten-free bread and flour mixes only.

The consultation is expected to run for four weeks from early November.

For more: www.swindonccg.nhs.uk