Allowing new drugs and treatments will cost £4m. a year, warns HSC chief
HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE will review the funding of new drugs and medical treatments following an amendment to the P&R Plan.
Former Health minister Deputy Peter Roffey has called for Health & Social Care and Employment & Social Security to improve access to potentially life-saving medication and bring Guernsey into line with the UK, which adopts all drugs approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
HSC president Heidi Soulsby said they were happy to commit to a review of funding, but warned that full adoption would cost around £4m. a year and that resources had to spread where they could do the most good for the whole of the population.
Their current policy with regards to Nice-guideline was well-established, consistent and transparent, she said.
‘Why should we be following the UK when they should be taking a leaf out of our book? Far from being followers, we can be leaders in the field.’
Deputy Roffey argued that islanders are deprived of financial cover for drugs that other jurisdictions have available to them.
This is because of HSC’s ‘wretched’ policy on Nice guidelines. He also contested Deputy Soulsby’s statement that HSC cannot simply provide these drugs for the benefit of ‘those who shout the loudest’ rather than for the benefit of the wider population.
‘I think people with terminal illnesses have been far too quiet,’ he said, adding that this problem was often hidden from view as those patients are focussed on making the most of the limited time they have.
Given Deputy Soulsby’s reservations about a change in policy, he felt that the review did not go far enough and was unlikely to achieve a positive outcome.
