Patients facing cancer drug postcode lottery

CANCER sufferers in many parts of London are losing out on life-enhancing treatment, figures reveal today.

A "league table" of spending on chemotherapy treatment shows massive inequalities across the capital. Hammersmith and Fulham primary care trust spends just £282.77 per patient each year, the lowest of any London trust. Patients in Greenwich, the highest-spending trust, receive the equivalent of £434.53 annually.

The figures highlight the battle NHS patients face for access to the latest drugs, with many trusts in the capital spending less per patient than the national average of £390. Other areas where people are losing out include Islington, where the average is £288.02.

Tower Hamlets is also near the bottom of the league with a spend of £294.60 per patient, and in Camden the figure is £297.11. This contrasts with Bromley - average spend £427.87 - and Lewisham where bosses spend £407.84.

MP Mike Penning, the Conservative shadow health spokesman, branded the lottery over cancer drug spending a "disgrace". He said: "It's unbelievable that we can't provide the same treatment in one part of London as we can in another. It's one of the reasons why we have the worst rates on cancer treatment in Europe."

Mr Penning said London trusts should group together on commissioning services so that people had equal access to treatment.

The figures, obtained by the Conservatives, were based on spending on chemotherapy drugs between 2007 and 2008.

NHS London said: "Variations in cancer spend can be put down to a number of factors, including the cost of drugs for different cancers and at what stage in the treatment the patient is. Clinical need and not cost is the driving factor behind any treatments that PCTs provide."

London has some of the leading cancer research institutes in Europe, including the Institute of Cancer Research and The UCL Cancer Institute. But NHS patients are among those least likely to have access to the latest cancer drugs.

The Government has already been forced into a U-turn over access to treatment for cancer.

Earlier this month, Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced that patients who buy their own life-extending medication will no longer lose their free NHS care.

This follows a string of high-profile cases where terminally ill patients had been denied care by the health service because they had "topped up" their treatment with drugs bought privately.

Evening Standard has revealed how cancer patients have started demanding compensation from London PCTs for this private medication, which costs thousands of pounds. At least three PCTs have been targeted, including Bromley, Hillingdon and Wandsworth.