Select a region
HSC has begun work to make NICE-approved drugs and treatments available to islanders, with hopes that over 1,000 people will benefit by the end of the year.
The decision was made this January to publicly fund medicines approved by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence on a case-by-case basis. Previously, these were only available to islanders through private health insurance, or to those who had been assessed and approved for use individually.
Deputy Peter Roffey led a requete to review the "unacceptable" gap in healthcare provisions between the UK and Guernsey. There is currently a backlog of almost 3,000 patients who are eligible for NICE-approved drugs. The first two years of the funding is expected to cost up to £13.4 million, although there is currently no long-term funding in place.
Over 160 drugs are approved by NICE. Medical Director Dr Peter Rabey said their introduction locally will be based on each drug's cost-effectiveness and the value added to the patient.
“It is not possible to adopt all NICE TA's in one go, as each drug will need individual, technical consideration to ensure that clinicians are supported in accessing and prescribing the drugs appropriately," said Dr Rabey.
Pictured: Deputy Peter Roffey, whose requete last year led to the decision to make funding available for NICE-approve treatments and medicines.
“It’s a complicated process, but one that HSC is committed to and will be starting in the next few weeks, with the view that some drugs will be available to islanders by the end of this year.”
The first tranche is likely to include oral drugs, as they are the easiest for clinicians to operationally. HSC hopes to make the remainder available during the first half of 2021.
HSC President Heidi Soulsby said she is pleased to see the NICE TA's being made available, in spite of the ‘significant pressures’ of the pandemic and the ‘considerable amount of time’ it can take to draw up bespoke legal agreements.
“Making up to 20 new drugs available for islanders by the end of the year does not sound many to some. However, it is worth noting that two drugs included in this number are for cardiac patients, and we expect in the region of 1,450 patients to benefit from them.”
16 drugs have been added to the White List so far and to the Hospital Formulary at the request of clinicians. Cases have also been considered on an individual basis through the Individual Funding Request process.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.