MP PRESSES FOR FUNDS TO END POSTCODE RATIONING OF DRUGS

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 17th Jul 2002

Local MP John Thurso has taken the Government to task for its failure to ensure that the recommendations of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) are backed with the necessary funding. The MP's approach follows representations from three constituents who suffer from chronic rheumatoid arthritis and who stood to gain from guidance recently issued by the HTBS that anti-TNF drugs should be available for prescription on the NHS if the relevant clinical criteria are met. However, Highland Health Board has indicated to the MP that it does not have the budget to fund these drugs.

The MP said:

"The whole rationale of NICE and HTBS was to put an end to the postcode rationing of drugs on the NHS and to ensure equal access for all. If it is the view of Government that the availability of new drugs and other technologies through the NHS should be determined on the basis of independent clinical advice, the Government must be prepared to make available the necessary funding to support that independent advice."