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Gluten Free Products

In the past gluten free (GF) foods were considered specialist food items, were not readily available to purchase and were extremely expensive compared to their equivalent gluten-containing products. However, GF foods are now widely available to purchase in supermarkets and other outlets and the price is more comparable to gluten-containing products.

Unlike other foodstuffs, gluten containing products are not essential for a healthy diet, Patients with gluten sensitivity can safely exclude it from their diet and still eat healthily without purchasing special foods. Patients can safely eat meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, rice and most dairy products, and there are a wide variety of readily available products e.g. rice cakes, crackers etc. to allow patients to complement their GF diets safely and obtain all their nutritional requirements.

Changes to gluten free prescribing have been made by  Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (HNY ICB) following a review of clinical policies and guidelines. We can no longer prescribe GF products except for patients who meet the policy's exclusion criteria.

Gluten free products are now only commissioned (funded) for patients if:

• the prescribing clinician considers that a patient’s ability to self-manage their disease (or their parent's/carer's ability in the case of a child or an adult who is unable to manage independently) is compromised by a medical or mental health condition resulting in severe mental impairment AND
• prescribing is restricted to GF bread and bread mixes

Some useful resources regarding Coeliac Disease and a GF diet:

• Food and drink - Coeliac UK
• Coeliac disease and gluten-free diet - BDA