Drug provision to be made more fair

Updated 23.42 Sun Jun 29 2008

Keywords: nhs, drugs, health

An NHS Constitution will end the "postcode lottery" of drug provision.

The Health Secretary Alan Johnson said a draft document, to be published by the Prime Minister, will enshrine a universal right to approved treatments "if clinically appropriate".

"What we have heard from patients is that one of their major concerns is the perceived 'postcode lottery'" - Alan Johnson

There are currently wide variations in the availability of drugs between local health authorities, leading to consistent complaints from patients.

Mr Johnson said efforts would also be made to speed up the approval of drugs by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice).

The Constitution, which will be launched as part of celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the NHS, will set out a "right to expect local decisions on funding of other drugs and treatment to be made rationally following a proper consideration of the evidence".

Mr Johnson said: "What we have heard from patients is that one of their major concerns is the perceived 'postcode lottery' in access to drugs, that there are too many variations around who gets access to prescribed drugs and that these variations are a lottery depending on where you live."

He added: "The draft Constitution will address this by making it explicit that patients have the right to Nice-approved drugs if clinically appropriate.

"We will also speed up the national process for appraising new drugs and make the process for local funding of drugs not appraised by Nice or where Nice has yet to issue guidance more transparent and consistent."

The Department of Health said the constitution would be the first of its kind in the world and would state "what patients, public and staff are entitled to expect from the NHS and what they can do if their needs are not met".

A spokeswoman said it had been drawn up on the basis of wide consultation.

Nice should in future issue the majority of its guidance as to whether new drugs should be available NHS-wide "within a few months of a new drugs' launch", she said.

Many of the disputes occur when some individual areas provide treatments ahead of such approval.