Is this the end of gluten-free foods on prescription?

Growing numbers of people with coeliac disease in the West are losing their access to gluten-free foods on prescription, as our local NHS commissioning groups try to save money.

Cornwall and Gloucestershire will end the prescriptions on 30 November 2016, and Somerset and Devon are considering whether to follow suit.

Across England, more and more areas are ending or limiting the prescriptions. Commissioners argue that the foods are not strictly necessary for a gluten-free diet (many foods like rice and potatoes are naturally gluten-free), and are readily available in supermarkets anyway. They also admit they need to save money.

Around 1 in 100 people in the UK have coeliac disease, an auto-immune disorder that is triggered by eating a common protein mix called gluten. Eating gluten-containing foods like bread and porridge can quickly make a coeliac patient ill.

Here is the current situation for gluten-free foods on prescription in the West:

  • Bristol: available for all coeliac patients

  • Cornwall: will end them on 30 November

  • Devon: consulting on whether to end them

  • Dorset: available for all coeliac patients

  • Gloucestershire: will end prescriptions on 30 November

  • North Somerset: available for all coeliac patients

  • Somerset: consulting on whether to end them

  • South Devon & Torbay: issued to under-18s only

  • South Gloucestershire: available for all coeliac patients

  • Wiltshire (inc Swindon): available for all coeliac patients

But Coeliac UK says the move will make life very difficult for a lot of coeliac patients, particularly elderly ones who cannot get to supermarkets easily.

It says naturally gluten-free foods do not necessarily have all the nutrients found in foods like bread and oats, and they also point out that specially-prepared gluten-free foods are very expensive.

Here are a few price examples:

  • Tesco 800g wholemeal loaf: 50p

  • Tesco 400g Free From multi-seed sliced bread: £1.50

  • Asda 500g penne pasta: 55p

  • Asda 500g Free From penne pasta: £1.35

  • Sainsbury's 500g Scottish porridge oats: 70p

  • Sainsbury's 450g Free From porridge oats: £2

Normal pasta contains gluten and can cause an upset stomach in coeliac patients Credit: Rui Vieira/PA Wire

Another worry is that without gluten-free foods on prescription, some coeliac patients may be tempted to eat gluten. In the long run this can lead to conditions like osteoporosis and anaemia.

There is essentially a gamble in all of this: the NHS commissioning groups are assuming that the money saved by ending gluten-free prescriptions will not be outweighed by the cost of treating more cases of these conditions.