Cancer Medicines

EDM number 1496 in 2017-19, proposed by Jim Shannon on 09/07/2018.
Categorised under the topics of Diseases and Health services.

That this House notes with concern that cancer patients in Northern Ireland have now faced two years of inequitable access to cancer medicines compared to the rest of the UK, as they are not able to access medicines recommended by NICE under the NICE/Cancer Drugs Fund process, despite Northern Ireland and committing to follow NICE guidance in the 2013 Circular HSC (SQSD) 2/13; further notes that Health and Social Care organisations in Northern Ireland have a statutory duty to put in place the systems to implement NICE guidance; notes that if these NICE recommendations had been followed in Northern Ireland, around 670 patients would have had access to new cancer medicines since July 2016, meaning approximately 32 patients every month have been denied treatment available elsewhere in the UK; and calls on the Northern Ireland Government to take concerted action to address this issue of inequity of access.

This motion has been signed by a total of 15 MPs.