Sturgeon says decisions forcing cancer sufferers to pay up will continue
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DECISIONS that force cancer sufferers off the NHS to pay for private treatment will continue to be made, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said yesterday.
Her comments were made in light of a campaign for free treatment by a Moray sufferer, Mike Gray, who died from his disease last month.
The 53-year-old from Buckie had been told by NHS Grampian that he could not get a particular drug for free.
The health authority later relented – but following his death admitted “quite an awful error” had been made in the way the patient was dealt with.
Ms Sturgeon yesterday told a Holyrood committee investigating drug availability in the NHS that similar problems were likely to surface again.
She said: “I think it is important to recognise that difficult decisions will always have to be made.
“It would be dishonest of me as an MSP to say to the public at large that these difficult decisions will not be confronted by other individuals in the future.”
She said NHS Grampian would “freely admit” there had been shortcoming in the process with Mr Gray.
Ms Sturgeon said the decision-making process should rest with experts so that any sufferer who disagrees can have “confidence” in the way it was reached.
She sent her condolences to the family and friends of Mr Gray and added: “His dignity and perseverance in pursuing his petition I think should be a lesson to all of us.”
Ms Sturgeon said all NHS boards are expected to have systems in place for dealing with dispensing drugs in “exceptional circumstances”.
She said there was “no evidence” to suggest those systems are not working properly.
The bad experience suffered by Mr Gray was down to the “speed” the decisions were taken, she added.
Ms Sturgeon said it was important that patients know how to challenge any clinical decision.
She said: “As health secretary I can’t think of any issues that cause more angst and anxiety and trouble than ones affecting individuals with life-threatening conditions who believe there is a drug out there that could help them that isn’t widely available on the NHS.”
She challenged claims that drugs were rejected based on cost alone, and added: “It’s not new that difficult decisions like this have to be taken because more and more advanced drugs are coming on to the market.
“I think what is important is not to try to say to people that these decisions could be avoided in future but to try to build confidence in the processes that lead to these decisions.”
She said the Scottish Medicines Consortium fulfilled its remit to advise NHS boards on the status of newly registered drugs.
The parliament’s public petitions committee is expected to begin a report on its investigation following yesterday’s evidence.
