UNDER the banner of
its End NHS Injustice
campaign, The
Northern Echo has
highlighted the
struggle faced by North-East and
North Yorkshire cancer patients
in the past 12 months to obtain
new drugs which are routinely
available in Europe and the US.
According to the Department
of Health, all new drugs which
are fully licensed can be prescribed
by any doctor, but in reality
they are unable to do so because
their local primary care
trusts (PCTs) are reluctant to pay
for new drugs that have not met
cost-effectiveness criteria drawn
up by the National Institute for
Health and Clinical Excellence
(Nice).
This has led to long delays in
new drugs being approved for the
NHS.
But even when Nice gives its
ruling, it often faces criticism
from experts, charities and patients
that too much emphasis is
placed on the high cost of many
modern drugs, and not enough on
their ability to extend lives and
improve quality of care.
THE first case highlighted
by The Northern Echo was
Kathleen Devonport, from
Chilton, County Durham, who
has advanced kidney cancer.
In March last year, Mrs Devonport's
NHS specialist wanted to
prescribe a new drug, Sutent, a
fully-licensed medication that
works by starving cancer cells of
nutrients.
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However, because Sutent costs
up to £30,000 a year and has still
not been approved by Nice, Mrs
Devonport's consultant was told
he could not prescribe the drug.
In desperation, Mrs Devonport,
64, reluctantly decided to go private
and pay for treatment.
Thanks to an anonymous
donor, who came up with £9,000 to
cover three months of treatment,
Mrs Devonport was able to be
treated with a very similar drug,
called Nexavar.
When the money ran out, she
had to find £2,763 to pay for another
course of Nexavar.
However, in August last year,
primary care trusts in the region
acknowledged the value of Sutent
and agreed to pay for all kidney
cancer patients who need this
treatment in the North-East and
Cumbria - including Mrs Devonport.
Unfortunately, this did not
apply to kidney cancer patient
Barbara Selby, 64, who lives in
Richmond, North Yorkshire, only
six miles away from the County
Durham border. Her consultant's
repeated requests to be allowed to
prescribe Sutent have been
turned down by PCT officials.
THE second case highlighted
by The Northern Echo
was that of lung cancer
sufferer Dave Hill, from Darlington.
Mr Hill was told by his cancer
specialist that he would probably
benefit from a new drug called
Tarceva.
Fully-licensed for use in the UK
and widely prescribed by doctors
in Europe and the US the drug is
largely unavailable to patients in
England, although patients in
Scotland can get it on the NHS.
Determined to prolong his life,
the father-of-four launched a
fund-raising campaign to pay for
the £1,900-a-month drug.
His six-year-old daughter
Chantelle's face appeared on the
side of a fundraising van along
with the slogan of "Help Me To
Save My Daddy".
After fundraising by his supporters,
Mr Hill was able to start
on a course of Tarceva at a private
hospital.
At the same time, his NHS consultant
continued to ask PCT officials
for permission to prescribe
Tarceva to Mr Hill.
Eventually, in November, PCT
officials decided there was
enough evidence that Tarceva
could extend patients' lives and
ruled that any consultant wishing
to prescribe the drug in the
North-East and Cumbria could do
so.
Sadly, Mr Hill lost his battle
with lung cancer in February -
six days after learning his case
had persuaded PCT bosses to
fund the drug.
Even that decision could now
be threatened after indications
that Nice may well decide Tarceva
is not cost-effective enough for
the NHS. That decision is expected
in the next few weeks.
BOWEL cancer sufferer
Pamela Smith, 62, was the
next patient whose case
was highlighted by The Northern
Echo.
The blind mother-of-five, from
Darlington, hoped that her consultant
would be able to persuade
PCT officials to pay for treatment
with a new drug called Erbitux.
Despite evidence that the drug
can extend and improve quality
of life for patients, the PCT
turned her down, pointing to a
ruling by Nice that Erbitux was
not judged to be cost-effective
enough for the NHS.
Desperate to receive the drug,
she was forced to spend her life
savings - £28,000 - on multiple
courses of Erbitux.
However, the PCT had a change
of heart in late December last
year when new medical evidence
showed that Erbitux had reduced
the size of Mrs Smith's tumour.
While her family are delighted
at this decision they are bitter
that she has had to spend so
much of her own money to obtain
a drug which, arguably, should be
available on the NHS.
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