NHS Forth Valley
NHS Forth Valley

Gluten-Free Food (GFF) Service

Services / Core Services / Gluten-Free Food (GFF) Service

Gluten Free Food Service

From February 2014, both adult and paediatric patients with a confirmed diagnosis of either Coeliac Disease or Dermatitis Herpetiformis have been able to benefit from a Community Pharmacy based Gluten-Free Food (GFF) Service. This is a national initiative introduced by Scottish Government. The outcome of the review of the Gluten Free Food Service is detailed in NHS Circular PCA(P)(2015)24.

  • The GFF Service allows patients to self-manage their gluten free prescription with the help of Community Pharmacy rather than General Practice. Patients will be identified and informed of the national Gluten-Free Food (GFF) Service by their GP. The GP will also provide the patient with the Patient Registration Form.
  • Patients can select products from the Gluten Free Food List (updated 2022) up to their maximum allocated units.
  • A number of products with no equivalent replacement were discontinued by manufacturers in 2017. Pharmacists are reminded that they can forward patient requests for additions to the formulary using the form below. Please note any requests must be available on the National Gluten Free Prescribable Product List, however no sweet biscuit products will be considered for addition.
  • If a patient is requesting ANY non-formulary product then please follow the NHS Forth Valley Prescribing of Non-Formulary Gluten Free Food Flowchart (see below). Requests for ANY non-formulary products should be accompanied by a ‘Request to supply a non-formulary gluten free food product’.  Once this form has been authorised by a dietician, please email a copy of  this form to FV.communitypharmacysupport@nhs.scot.  This form should be retained in the premises as long as the patient continues to receive gluten free products.
  • Patients are required to complete a Gluten-Free Food Requirement Order Form with their choices up to their maximum allocated units. This should be retained in the pharmacy for 12 months.
  • A Patient Leaflet and Patient Information Pack for Gluten-Free Foods are available from NHS Inform.

Pharmacy Care Record and Annual Health Checks

  • A Pharmacy Care Record (PCR) should be created for each patient presenting with a Patient Registration Form.
  • An annual health check assessment should be completed on the PCR by the community pharmacy for each patient they supply gluten free food to – this can be found in the ‘Support Tools’ section of the PCR.
  • Reports can be generated from the PCR Home Screen to help you manage patients who are due for a review.
  • You can print out a copy of the Gluten Free Food – PCR Support Tool Paper Template V2 if you prefer to collect the information from the patient manually before entering it on to the PCR (further guidance notes are available within each section of the Support Tool).

Further resources

  • An electronic support pack is available from NES and can be accessed by logging in to Turas
  • More information about Coeliac Disease can be found on the Coeliac UK Website.
  • More information regarding Coeliac Disease and Dermatitis Herpetiformis can be found on the NHS Inform website. The site also provides information about the Gluten-Free Food (GFF) Service and is a useful resource for signposting patients.

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