NI patients to access the same potentially life-saving drugs available in other parts of the UK
Breakthrough in the treatment of illnesses such as cancer
Last updated 12th Sep 2018
A major breakthrough in the treatment of cancer and other serious conditions in Northern Ireland, was revealed today (Wednesday).
It means patients will now be able to access new innovative drugs, previously available only in England.
It follows a two-year campaign by charities and patients.
The Department of Health said it was making changes to the Individual Funding Request process which enabled access to new medicines for cancer and other conditions.
A spokesman said: “The changes to the IFR process follow an extensive evaluation and public consultation exercise, and fulfil a Ministerial Commitment to place clinical expertise at the heart of this sensitive and important decision making process.
“The new approach will increase access to promising new treatments, improve the overall consistency of the IFR process, include a greater level of clinical input, and increase emphasis on the clinical benefit to the patient.
“The changes in access arrangements for innovative new medicines update the approach in Northern Ireland to better reflect amendments to NICE mechanisms.
“As a consequence of this, drugs approved by NICE for use through the Cancer Drug Fund in England will now be considered in line with existing arrangements for NI endorsement of NICE recommendations. Accordingly, patients here will have the same access to cancer drugs as their counterparts in other UK regions.
“These changes will be implemented as a priority”
Richard Pengelly, Permanent Secretary of Department of Health, added: “New drugs for cancer and other life threatening and debilitating illnesses come on to the market every year. Unfortunately, our approach did not properly take account of changes to the NICE approval process, and patients here had difficulty accessing such drugs. This has been a major cause of frustration for both patients and clinicians.
“It is clearly in the public interest that we moved to address this, and I am delighted that Northern Ireland patients will now have the same access to cancer drugs as their counterparts in other UK regions.”
Meanwhile, the announcement has been welcomed by politicians and charity representatives.
SDLP health spokesperson Mark H Durkan said the announcement was “long overdue”.
“Today we think of all those who have campaigned for this civil right and those who would have benefited from it but who are sadly no longer with us,” he said.
Sinn Fein Pat Sheehan said the announcement was an “important development”.
"It is important that this development announced by the department is implemented in a timely manner and that cancer patients and organisations are engaged from the outset on the process,” he said.