Over four years after its slated launch, the NHS Cannabis Patient Registry is set to publish its first data. The years of obfuscation and delay prompted a Freedom of Information request by Business of Cannabis, which has established that the NHS will publish data from its 'registry' by the 'end of the year'.
However, from our industry soundings – and despite its four-year gestation – it is still unclear whether the UK registry, currently, even exists in a usable form. And, there is speculation as to whether the six-month window will allow the NHS time to assimilate the relevant data.
During our investigations into the workings of the registry it became clear that the two organizations tasked with its delivery were more concerned with back-heeling responsibility to the other, than supporting patients.
Those with knowledge of the workings of the NHS say that even now, four years down the line, the vast majority of prescribing medical cannabis consultants are unaware of the registry's existence. Nevertheless, for the NHS to eventually accept that it needs to fulfil the mandate it was given by the UK Government and acknowledge and monitor the role cannabis can play in a clinician's toolkit is, in itself, a welcome development.
Read more at Business of Cannabis
