Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 14 June 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to (a) prevent severe topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) reactions that can result from long-term use of topical steroid treatments, (b) monitor and review the prescribing of topical corticosteroids on the NHS and (c) consider a four-nation approach to include TSW in the MedDRA clinical coding system.
Following the recent MHRA review into topical steroid withdrawal, regulatory action means topical steroids will soon be labelled with their potencies. This will aid correct selection and simplify the advice for patients. The Scottish Government will cascade the MHRA updated safety alert, new labelling and revised patient safety leaflet to prescribers through clinical networks.
The Scottish Government encourages individuals to review their treatment plans with their healthcare professionals at least annually, and we are working with Health Improvement Scotland to develop searches for clinicians to identify patients using steroids.
We are already working on a four nations approach with MHRA as a hub.