Vow to end 'postcode' lottery for vital drugs

Ministers vowed yesterday to end 'postcode' prescriptions which prevent some patients from receiving life-saving cancer drugs.

Health Secretary John Reid has ordered an inquiry into why some local health authorities prescribe new drugs to combat cancer while others do not.

The investigation by 'cancer tsar' Prof Mike Richards comes as a Government report suggests NHS cancer services have improved over the past three years.

It shows death rates are falling and more cancer specialists are working in the NHS. Cancer deaths among people below 75 have fallen by ten per cent since 1995, Prof Richards says.

His findings come just days after doctors warned the NHS was failing cancer patients. The Royal College of Radiologists said a lack of staff and equipment shortages meant some patients died needlessly, while others lived in constant pain.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry welcomed the move but warned that 'postcode prescribing' was not confined to cancer drugs.