Access to Vital Cancer Drug is Postcode Lotto

By REBECCA SMITH; ELLEN WIDDUP

NINE women in London have been told they will not be given the lifesaving breast cancer drug Herceptin on the NHS.

A survey carried out by the Evening Standard has shown women in some boroughs are being given the drug but in others they are refused it – effectively a postcode lottery.

Fourteen women are still waiting to find out if they will get Herceptin on the NHS or face a bill of thousands of pounds a year to buy it privately.

The drug, which can reduce the risk of some breast cancers returning by almost 50 per cent, costs about Pounds 20,000 a year per patient.

It is not yet licensed for use in earlystage cancers but doctors can ask a local primary care trust to fund it on a case-by-case basis if it is thought the patient would benefit.

Some of the 32 London trusts have granted Herceptin to every woman whose doctor thinks she needs it, while others have refused all requests.

The remainder have given it to some patients but not to others. It is feared trusts are using social criteria, such as whether the woman is a single mother, in making their decisions.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said yesterday a decision on whether to recommend Herceptin for all women in the early stages of HER2 positive cancer will be made in the summer.

Ms Hewitt has made it clear trusts must not refuse the drug on grounds of cost alone but, after the Standard’s revelation that the NHS in London is in Pounds 182 million debt this year, it is believed some are considering not funding Herceptin until it has been licensed.

Mental health scandal

CONCERNS about inappropriate use of antidepressants are highlighted in a survey of doctors today. Doctors’ magazine Pulse found that depressed patients were being prescribed the drugs because of a “crisis” in access to mental health services, therapy and counselling.

Pulse editor Phil Johnson said: “The figures we have uncovered are appalling. It’s a scandal that some of the most vulnerable patients … are left languishing on waiting lists because mental health is not seen as a priority.”