Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are allowing people to go blind because they are refusing to fund a new treatment, a former Labour MP has claimed.
According to Alice Mahon, who stood down at the 2005 election, many sufferers of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are losing their sight, despite the existence of a drug which could benefit sufferers.
The former MP, who suffers from the condition, revealed that Lucentis has shown promise in private hospitals but said that PCTs are "hiding" behind the fact that the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice) is yet to approve the drug.
"Patricia Hewitt wrote to me and said that Nice do not have to have approved it for PCTs to prescribe it," she told the Today programme.
Ms Mahon is threatening to sue her PCT if it refuses to fund a course of the drug which, at around £5,000 for one course of treatment, costs significantly less than the expense of supporting a person who has gone blind, she insists.
"I am really worried that we are now into an American-style rationing situation," she said.
"I know we were told that the government has to make hard choices - I really didn't think it meant allowing people to go blind."
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Lucentis slowed vision loss in around 90 per cent of patients and actually improved vision for around a third of volunteers.
Health minister Andy Burnham has previously stated that Nice approval is not necessary for PCTs to offer a particular treatment.
In a written response to a query about another AMD drug, Macugen, in June 2006, Mr Burnham commented: "The department has made it clear that patients should not be refused a treatment simply because guidance from [Nice] is unavailable.
"In these circumstances, we expect primary care trusts to take full account of available evidence when reaching decisions on whether to provide the treatment."
According to Alice Mahon, who stood down at the 2005 election, many sufferers of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are losing their sight, despite the existence of a drug which could benefit sufferers.
The former MP, who suffers from the condition, revealed that Lucentis has shown promise in private hospitals but said that PCTs are "hiding" behind the fact that the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (Nice) is yet to approve the drug.
"Patricia Hewitt wrote to me and said that Nice do not have to have approved it for PCTs to prescribe it," she told the Today programme.
Ms Mahon is threatening to sue her PCT if it refuses to fund a course of the drug which, at around £5,000 for one course of treatment, costs significantly less than the expense of supporting a person who has gone blind, she insists.
"I am really worried that we are now into an American-style rationing situation," she said.
"I know we were told that the government has to make hard choices - I really didn't think it meant allowing people to go blind."
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that Lucentis slowed vision loss in around 90 per cent of patients and actually improved vision for around a third of volunteers.
Health minister Andy Burnham has previously stated that Nice approval is not necessary for PCTs to offer a particular treatment.
In a written response to a query about another AMD drug, Macugen, in June 2006, Mr Burnham commented: "The department has made it clear that patients should not be refused a treatment simply because guidance from [Nice] is unavailable.
"In these circumstances, we expect primary care trusts to take full account of available evidence when reaching decisions on whether to provide the treatment."
Eye surgery news : 30/01/2007
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