February 23, 2006
Thursday
Slow take-up of new cancer drugs by the NHS
The slow take-up of new cancer drugs in Britain is one of the clearest ways in which the 'new, improved, richer NHS' is continuing to provide a health service which is inferior to that of other advanced countries.
Another example of this is in the news today:
Leading doctors have called on the Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt to ensure patients can get access to two new brain tumour treatments. In a letter to the government, 36 clinicians say the National Institute For Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is ignoring patients' needs.They say the treatments, temozolomide and carmustine implants, are a major advance, and value for money.
NICE initially rejected them - but said no final decision had been made.
This is from BBC online.
Posted by James Bartholomew • Indexed in NHS
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Here are a couple of ways in which the money gets hosed down the drain:
communications: on 21st September 2003 the Sunday Times carried an advert for a £90K pa External Affairs Director "to lead a group of 22 professionals, manage a budget of over £3 million and ..."expensive offices: the 22 above plus numerous others are based in expensive West End offices at 71 High Holborn.
It all adds up pretty quickly and does not get new drugs signed off. In fact the assessment staff tend to be contractors so are easily cut back. All the comms people are pensionable, full-timers who are less easy to cut. Doh!
Posted by: Phil Taylor at February 27, 2006 06:41 PM