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<p>NHS England undertook a study into how the proposals in the consultation <em>Conditions
for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care:
A Consultation on guidance for CCGs </em>might affect at-risk groups by accompanying
the consultation with a full Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment. The
Impact Assessment, <em>Equality and Health Inequalities – Full Analysis Form – Conditions
for which over the counter items should not routinely be prescribed in primary care</em>
sets out how the proposals may affect groups protected by the Equality Act 2010 and
those people on low income and ethnic minorities, including those at-risk groups,
as set out in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Copies
of the consultation and Impact Assessment are attached.</p><p>In the summer months
most people should be able to get all the vitamin D they need from sunlight on the
skin. It is also found in some foods – oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks and fortified
foods – such as most fat spreads and some breakfast cereals.</p><p>The Advisory Committee
on Borderline Substances states that vitamins and minerals should be prescribed only
in the management of actual or potential vitamin or mineral deficiency, and are not
to be prescribed as dietary supplements. We understand that NHS England’s current
consultation is in line with this. Prescribing vitamin D for maintenance would be
classed as a treatment for prevention or as a dietary supplement.</p>
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