Comment
Clear case for transparency
TEN years ago this newspaper campaigned
successfully to bring treatment for patients
with heart disease into line with the rest of
Europe.
A decade later, it seems the way our new
drugs are licensed is once more lagging behind
other countries. This leaves patients
with life-threatening illnesses in a terrible
dilemma: either pay for private treatment or
accept their fate.
The villain of the piece is the National Institute
for Clinical Excellence. It is ironic
that the NHS watchdog is more commonly
known as Nice. Patients on the receiving end
of its judgments could be forgiven for thinking
the organisation is anything but.
The institute has been criticised by charities
and patient groups, which have accused
it of banning or limiting the use of some
drugs because they would cost the NHS too
much.
As long ago as 2002, MPs said there was
"considerable confusion" on how the institute
decides which treatments offered value
for money. They called for greater clarity on
how Nice decides which drugs should be
available for patients.
Yet the decision-making process remains
as mystifying as it ever was.
The Court of Appeal clearly agrees. It has
ordered Nice to reveal the formula it uses to
decide on cost-effectiveness.
We say this cannot come a moment too
soon for the thousands of patients waiting
for new drugs already available elsewhere -
sometimes as close to home as Scotland.
The lack of transparency does Nice no
favours. It reinforces the impression that
judgements seem to be made on a whim. One
treatment is given the go-ahead while
another is banned.
By opening up Nice to scrutiny we can at
least have a debate with all the facts before
us.
And until Nice can provide a compelling
reason why advanced drug treatments
should not be available to all NHS patients,
this paper will continue to campaign on
their behalf.
10:03am Friday 2nd May 2008
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