More patients will receive the medicines they need following a major shake-up of the way treatments are approved, it was announced yesterday.
Health Secretary Alex Neil unveiled a package of measures designed to make Scotland’s drug approval system more transparent, and increase access to medicines for end-of-life care. Last night, Moray campaigner Tina McGeever said the issue was of vital importance to patients and their families and was welcome.
She and her late husband, Mike Gray, had to pay nearly £3,400 every fortnight for cancer treatment denied by NHS Grampian.
Mr Neil decided to act after Holyrood’s health committee said existing assessment procedures were not always appropriate.
Mr Neil, who expects the new scheme to be implemented early next year, said it was “only right” that patients had access to medicines that were clinically justified.
“We have listened carefully to patients, charities and consultants and put in place a comprehensive range of measures which will increase access to new medicines and make the system better and more open for patients,” he said.
“So I’ve directed the Scottish Medicines Consortium to conclude a review by the end of the year to establish more flexible approaches in evaluating medicines for end-of-life care and treating very rare conditions to increase access to new medicines for Scottish patients.
“I want Scotland to be able to make medicines available which represent value to patients – and these changes are the first step towards this.”
SMC chairwoman Professor Angela Timoney said it shared the government’s objective of increasing access to new medicines. “We fully support patient access to clinically effective new medicines at a price that is fair for all,” she said.
“SMC are confident that we can play a key role in developing a future approach that truly reflects what people in Scotland value.”
The package of measures was welcomed by charities that support people with serious illnesses.
Eric Low, chief executive of Myeloma UK, said: “We need to make sure that all patients get access to the most clinically and cost-effective treatment and care.”
James Jopling, of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said he was pleased that the government recognised the importance of new drugs because “limited treatment” was available for women with secondary breast cancer – an incurable form of the disease.