Carrick gran presents cancer drugs petition

Vera Saunderson (72), a widow and grandmother who has advanced liver cancer, joined fellow campaigners at Stormont on Tuesday.

The Cancer Focus Northern Ireland Equal Access petition, signed by over 24,000 supporters, calls for local cancer patients to be given the same access to 40 cancer drugs as those living in England.

Vera, who shared her story with readers in last week’s Carrick Times, said: “My oncologist confirmed that a drug was available through the Cancer Drugs Fund in England and had I lived there I would be in a better position to access it.

“I replied, ‘Aren’t I a UK taxpayer? Do I not also live in the UK?’ I couldn’t understand why people in England can benefit from this drug while Northern Ireland patients are denied it.”

The campaign has resonated strongly with the Northern Ireland public and the handover at Stormont represents the next phase, the call for the Assembly to act now.

Roisin Foster, chief executive of Cancer Focus NI, said: “England has had a Cancer Drugs Fund to pay for costly non-NICE approved drugs since 2011. Just this week, Scotland announced the creation of a £40m New Medicines Fund, paid for by the pharmaceutical industry under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS), effectively doubling its current special drugs fund giving patients in Scotland better access to expensive drugs.

“While we fully understand the pressures on the budget, there is a solution to this particular problem that needs to be seized. The PPRS is an avenue that would give much needed access to these drugs in Northern Ireland with little or no extra cost to the Health Department. In the first quarter of this year, Northern Ireland has already received a £2.89 million rebate through the scheme, and a similar amount is to be expected every quarter for the next five years. We would ask that the Northern Ireland Executive establishes a similar fund, which could be adequately funded via the PPRS rebated monies without delay.”

In May the previous Health Minister announced a review of the Individual Funding Request (IFR). At the end of September an evaluation team was established with the review set to begin later this month.  The findings of this review will be available at the end of the year.

Accepting the petition on behalf of the Executive, Mr Wells said: “Let me stress that I empathise entirely with patients undergoing treatment for cancer and other serious conditions and want to assure them that my aim is to ensure they receive the most effective treatment possible.

“Due to the concerns raised by patients, survivors, charities, colleagues in the Assembly and the pharmaceutical industry that the current process around access to specialist drugs could be improved, and to the calls for the establishment of a cancer drugs fund, my predecessor began an evaluation of the Individual Funding Request (IFR) process which governs access to unapproved specialist drugs. I endorse this measure.

“The evaluation will take full account of the measures that other devolved administrations are considering in their approach towards access to specialist drugs.

“The Chief Medical Officer is leading on this work which will be completed by the end of the year. I want to be absolutely sure that patients have the best access to the right drugs and I will be looking closely at the results of the evaluation.”