Medical cannabis clinic approved by the CQC

Sapphire Medical Clinic has become the first clinic offering integrated medical cannabis services to register with the CQC.

The clinic on London’s Harley Street will now be able to offer access to medical cannabis for conditions where there is an acknowledged benefit as part of a comprehensive treatment pathway, including other conventional pharmaceutical drugs and treatments.

Dr Mikael Sodergren, managing director and academic lead at Sapphire Clinics described the decision as a landmark moment in the supply of medical cannabis in the UK.

‘We can now be the lifeline for GPs who are not permitted to prescribe themselves but who think their patients could benefit from medical cannabis. From today, those GPs can be sure that their patients are able to be treated in the UK by world-class experts in their conditions, who understand cannabis as a medicine and how it interacts with other treatments that patients might be on. For patients who have too long been denied access to cannabis-based products as part of the conventional treatment pathway this decision could be life-changing. And as clinicians this means that we can now move forward with our ultimate aim, which is to help patients.’

The clinic will operate on a GP referral basis and alongside the provision of treatment, plans to maintain a registry of patient response and efficacy, which will contribute to the evidence base for more widespread prescribing.