An Individual Funding Request is a procedure with the English National Health Service for individuals who require treatments, drugs or therapies that NHS commissioning organisations do not generally fund.
Before 2013 these requests were dealt with by primary care trusts. Since that date they are now managed by clinical commissioning groups or by NHS England for specialised services which are commissioned by them.
Each CCG has an Individual Funding Request Panel. Applications are made by clinicians who are asked to supply evidence of clinical need, clinical and cost effectiveness, the impact of refusal and exceptionality. This procedure cannot be used if there is likely to be a cohort of similar patients in the same or similar clinical circumstances as the requesting patient whose clinical condition means that they could make a similar request.
Requests are supposed to be dealt with within 20 days.
North Kirklees and Greater Huddersfield CCGs decided in January 2017 that they would stop most individual funding requests, hoping to save £750,000 over the next 18 months.