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'Go blind - then we'll treat you', says NHS
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| Joan Armstrong and her son Martin, who has been fighting to get her treatment. |
A woman from Southfields must go blind in one eye before she can receive NHS treatment to save her sight, Wandsworth Primary Care Trust (PCT) has told her.
Joan Armstrong, 82, has wet macular degeneration in her eyes but has been denied the drug which may stop her from going blind because it is not "cost effective".
Despite Mrs Armtrong being eligible for the drug Lucentis, which was approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), Wandsworth - unlike other PCTs - refuses to prescribe it to those with two working eyes until it is obliged to do so in September.
The Macular Disease Society (MDS) says allowing someone to go blind in one eye is dangerous because a blind eye is unlikely to recover and the remaining one may not respond to the treatment.
By September Mrs Armstrong, of Wimbledon Park Road, could be completely blind as the condition can worsen in just a few days in extreme cases.
She said: "I've got worse recently and I can only see 10 inches in front of me now. I fell over last week because I couldn't see. The mere thought of being dependent on other people is awful. I lead a fit and active life, gardening and shopping and seeing my friends."
Tom Bremridge, chief executive of MDS, said: "They're trying to save money by delaying paying for the drug, but it would be more expensive to let her go blind because she would need care."
Putney MP Justine Greening, who has been campaigning on Mrs Armstrong's behalf, said: "I don't think it's fair that people who have paid into the NHS all their lives are not able to use it."
Wandsworth PCT said it is waiting for guidance from NICE to provide information on the cost-effectiveness of the drug and, in the meantime, each application for the drug was based on criteria from trial studies.
However a NICE spokesman said: "The Department of Health has made it clear that it is not acceptable for PCTs to use the absence of NICE guidance as an excuse not to prescribe."
Around 240,000 people in the UK have wet macular degeneration, many of them elderly, and private Lucentis treament can cost as much as £26,000.
For information call the Macular Disease Society on 01264 350 551 or visit www.maculardisease.org.
6:23pm Tuesday 29th April 2008
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CommentPosted by: G.Virr, Sunbury Common on 3:04pm Wed 30 Apr 08
Simple common sense would dictate that the first eye to be affected should be the one that is treated. This should be without 'short term cost saving delays' when it is known that total blindness will be more of a cost burden on society.
A visit to any NHS hospital reveals, even to a casual observer, that their is scope for cost savings in other areas.
Simple common sense would dictate that the first eye to be affected should be the one that is treated. This should be without 'short term cost saving delays' when it is known that total blindness will be more of a cost burden on society.
A visit to any NHS hospital reveals, even to a casual observer, that their is scope for cost savings in other areas.
Posted by: carol norwell on 9:09am Thu 1 May 08
I hope that Mrs Strong is a member of the Macular Disease Society; they run an Advocacy service whereby they will fight the PCTs decision. Another option is to ask for a second opinion from a neighbouring authority. My advice is fight the decision; get local radio, more newspaper coverage, shame the PCT into action. Good luck.
I hope that Mrs Strong is a member of the Macular Disease Society; they run an Advocacy service whereby they will fight the PCTs decision. Another option is to ask for a second opinion from a neighbouring authority. My advice is fight the decision; get local radio, more newspaper coverage, shame the PCT into action. Good luck.
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