Press Release
Age-related
Macular Degeneration
28 February 2008
Funding policy on sight drug “Shameful” says MP
Lynne Jones, MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, spoke out at the shameful
way in which her constituents are being denied treatment on the NHS that would save their
sight. “South Birmingham Primary
Care Trust has effectively admitted that it is operating a ‘one-eye’ policy when
it comes to funding treatment of ‘wet Age-related macular degeneration’ (wet
AMD) with new drugs such as Lucentis (ranibizumab)”, she said. “They have told me that they will only fund
courses of Lucentis for wet AMD in circumstances where clinical details have indicated
that the patient will lose vision in both eyes and the patient has the potential to
respond fully to the treatment. This is
despite draft guidelines from NICE, the National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence, issued on 14 December 2007, which recommend that the NHS should pay for a
maximum of 14 injections of ranibizumab per eye. In the course of protracted correspondence
with South Birmingham PCT, the PCT remained adamant that, in advance of a final
recommendation from NICE, which is not expected until May or June 2008, it will continue
to consider funding treatment only “on an
exceptional basis””.
Responses to an earlier consultation by NICE on their draft guidance
for treatment with Lucentis made it clear that many people felt it was unacceptable for
NICE to recommend treating only the second affected eye.
Two key issues were highlighted: the loss of sight in the first eye would
cause anxiety and depression; and secondly, treating only the second eye could mean the
patient could go completely blind if the second eye didn’t respond to treatment. NICE took these concerns on board and now
recommends treating the first eye to come to clinical attention.
Lynne Jones said “Recently I attended a Royal National Institute for the Blind meeting for MPs
who told me that South Birmingham PCT is amongst the worst trusts as regards the funding
of treatment with Lucentis. Norfolk PCT
is an example of best practice – they are not only following the NICE 14th
December draft guidance but have decided to reimburse patients who have already
paid for earlier stages of their treatment themselves.”
Lynne went on to say “Many of those who suffer from wet
age-related macular degeneration are, by definition, from the older generation, people who
have paid all their lives for our, mostly wonderful, National Health System. And just when they need it most they are being
shamefully let down. Nobody would dream
of a situation where one leg was allowed to go because the patient had another one! Those who have written to me are faced with the
prospect of either having to pay sums they can ill afford or losing their sight in at
least one eye. This is not Government policy,
it is a local funding decision and it is the wrong decision”.
E N D S
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