Editorial: ​Concern over Northern Ireland's cancer drug approval system when compared to other UK nations

​The fact that Northern Ireland’s health service doesn’t have the same mechanisms in place to approve certain medicines available elsewhere in the UK is a matter of concern.​

Jim Allister MP has highlighted the plight of a constituent who has been unable to access a prostate cancer treatment available in England, Scotland and Wales.

As reported in today’s News Letter, Zytiga has been approved for men with non-metastatic cancer via a special commissioning route in the rest of the country.

NICE – which assesses the cost-effectiveness of medicines – has yet to make a determination on its use in this scenario UK-wide. However, the health minister says other home nations have bodies that can make their own determinations in cases like this – but NI does not.

Mike Nesbitt says a review is being conducted into “the existing workforce infrastructure” – and will determine what is needed to strengthen local arrangements for making decisions on such drugs.

There is a body which already deals with these matters, to some extent. The minister says that the department’s Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG) – does not “routinely commission” drugs not approved by NICE, implying it does have some role.

The SPPG is the old health and social care board (HSCB) – which was scrapped by former DUP minister Simon Hamilton amid concerns about inefficiencies in the system. Yet, it was largely subsumed into the Department of Health.

A decade later, rather than posts being allowed to lapse after staff left or retired, new employees have been recruited. The minister says any extra costs from strengthening drug approval arrangements will have to be looked at in the context of the “challenging financial position”. He could do worse than to ask if the SPPG itself is delivering value for money.