Government unveils £50 million cancer fund
LONDON — A 50 million cancer fund is to be set up giving patients greater access to drugs currently unavailable on the NHS, the government announced on Tuesday.From October doctors will…
LONDON — A £50 million cancer fund is to be set up giving patients greater access to drugs currently unavailable on the NHS, the government announced on Tuesday.From October doctors will be able to use the fund to offer patients medicines, to prolong or enhance quality of life, which have not been approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).Doctors working in regional groups will decide how the funding is spent in their area based on advice from cancer specialists.The fund is an interim measure, ahead of a new cancer drugs fund planned for April 2011.The move comes as a report by the government's cancer tsar, Professor Sir Mike Richards, shows the UK?s uptake of new drugs is lagging behind other European countries.Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "I promised that I would help patients in England get cancer drugs that are readily available in the rest of Europe. "It's a scandal that we are strong in cancer research and participation in clinical trials in the UK, yet NHS patients aren't always seeing the benefits from the research swiftly enough."Patients should have access to innovative cancer drugs that can extend or improve their quality of life and which their doctors have recommended, which is why I'm determined to take action now."Professor Richards said the report showed a "mixed picture" of drugs uptake across a range of diseases. "In the UK, we have shown encouraging results in NHS usage of statins to reduce cardiovascular disease," he said.?My findings show, however, that usage of new cancer drugs is relatively low in comparison with international averages."Ministers rejected suggestions that the fund risked undermining NICE, insisting it would allow access to drugs thrown out by the watchdog for being too costly.Earlier this year, a report found NICE had rejected expensive medicines which could have extended the lives of up to 16,000 terminally-ill cancer patients.Head of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "We are delighted the government has listene
last modification 2010-07-27 17:30:16
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