Kidney Cancer Petition

[Acumen]

Many of you will know of Nigel Plews and his brave battle against cancer. Happily his appeal to the Health Authority has resulted in his receiving drugs which will greatly benefit his condition. Unfortunately this is not the case for all who need these drugs. Nigel has asked that we spread the attached petition as far and wide as possible. Please sign it and pass it to your friends.


Would you please consider signing the e-petition for NHS approval of Kidney Cancer drugs, click this link to show solidarity with kidney cancer patients:



petitions.pm.gov.uk/kidneycancerRCC/



It would help very much if you forwarded this e-petition link to all your friends and ask them to consider doing the same. We need all the help we can get, there are only four days left before the petition closes and currently there are over 7,500 names on it.

[johnfgolding]

There has been a response to the petition

www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page14764.asp

"Decisions to fund treatments are made by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in consultation with the healthcare professionals who are best placed to decide on the most appropriate treatments for their patients. The Department of Health have made it clear to the NHS that it is not acceptable for funding for licensed treatments to be withheld from patients simply because NICE has not published guidance on them. In these circumstances, the Department of Health expects PCTs to take full account of available evidence when reaching funding decisions. This is confirmed in the Department of Health's good practice guide issued to the NHS in December 2006.

The Department has now announced the Cancer Reform Strategy. The strategy, launched on 3 December, recognises that the Department of Health should reduce the period when local decisions are necessary to a minimum by ensuring that NICE issues guidance as soon after a drug is licensed as possible. The Department of Health will achieve this by continuing to work with the Institute to ensure that its fast-track (Single Technology Appraisal) process, launched in November 2005, is used appropriately and works as effectively as possible.

It is also proposed that, as a default position, all new cancer drugs and significant new licensed indications will be referred to NICE, provided that the Institute agrees that there is a sufficient patient population and evidence base on which to carry out an appraisal and that there is not a more appropriate alternative mechanism for appraisal. This will provide greater certainty at an earlier stage about whether NICE guidance will be forthcoming on individual drugs.
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