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Ex-MP battles NHS over eye drug | Ex-MP battles NHS over eye drug |
(about 22 hours later) | |
A former Halifax MP says she may go to the High Court to force the NHS to provide a drug which she says could help her failing sight. | A former Halifax MP says she may go to the High Court to force the NHS to provide a drug which she says could help her failing sight. |
Alice Mahon, 69, lost most of the sight in one eye due to wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and expects to lose it in the other. | |
Calderdale Primary Care Trust (PCT) has refused to fund a drug which she says could stabilise or help her condition. | |
A spokeswoman for the PCT said it did not comment on individual cases. | |
More than 18,000 people in the UK go blind every year due to wet AMD. | |
According to the Royal National Institute for the Blind, several PCTs will not fund the drugs to treat the condition. | |
Suitable for most | Suitable for most |
Four treatments are currently available for the disease, which affects the central part of the retina and is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK. | Four treatments are currently available for the disease, which affects the central part of the retina and is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK. |
Two of the treatments only help a small percentage of patients, but two new drugs, Macugen and Lucentis, are suitable for most patients. | Two of the treatments only help a small percentage of patients, but two new drugs, Macugen and Lucentis, are suitable for most patients. |
Macugen costs about £10,000 a year, and Lucentis costs about £12,000. | Macugen costs about £10,000 a year, and Lucentis costs about £12,000. |
Both drugs are currently being appraised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which expects to issue guidance to the NHS in October. | Both drugs are currently being appraised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which expects to issue guidance to the NHS in October. |
The excuses that the PCTs are giving for not funding treatment are scandalously lame Alice Mahon | |
Mrs Mahon was diagnosed with AMD two months ago and is being treated at Calderdale Royal Hospital. | Mrs Mahon was diagnosed with AMD two months ago and is being treated at Calderdale Royal Hospital. |
Her solicitor Yogi Amin, from Irwin Mitchell, wrote to her PCT in Calderdale and also Kirklees PCT, saying their refusal to fund the drugs breached her human rights. | Her solicitor Yogi Amin, from Irwin Mitchell, wrote to her PCT in Calderdale and also Kirklees PCT, saying their refusal to fund the drugs breached her human rights. |
Kirklees PCT also said it did not comment on individual cases. | |
The letter said Mrs Mahon had been forced to fund her urgent treatment privately, at a cost of £5,325, to avoid losing her eyesight while her case was being considered. | The letter said Mrs Mahon had been forced to fund her urgent treatment privately, at a cost of £5,325, to avoid losing her eyesight while her case was being considered. |
She said: "I have been an ardent supporter of the NHS all my life, and now feel totally let down. | She said: "I have been an ardent supporter of the NHS all my life, and now feel totally let down. |
"The excuses that the PCTs are giving for not funding treatment are scandalously lame. | "The excuses that the PCTs are giving for not funding treatment are scandalously lame. |
'Complex appraisal' | |
"Everyone has the right to free treatment on the NHS for a condition that results in blindness and devastates lives. | "Everyone has the right to free treatment on the NHS for a condition that results in blindness and devastates lives. |
"Supporting people who are blind or partially sighted, who may need home help and suffer injuries from falls, is far more expensive than the treatment." | |
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Patients should not be refused a treatment simply because NICE guidance does not exist yet. | |
"Macugen and Lucentis are being assessed by NICE against each other to ensure that NHS patients receive clinically and cost-effective treatments. | |
"It is a complex appraisal and does take some time. It is important that the NICE recommendations are subject to proper consultation. | |
"But even while this process is taking place doctors can prescribe Macugen within its licensed indications without NICE guidance if they believe it is the right treatment for their patient." |
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