Cancer Drug Fund consultation

From the NHSE website:

Image by Philip Taylor via Flickr CC BY 2.0

“NHS England is proposing changes to the way its Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) operates, in order that it delivers maximum benefit for patients, within the resources available.  Clinicians and cancer specialists believe the changes, if adopted, would:

• improve patient access to the most clinically effective drugs available through the fund;

• encourage pricing that delivers value for money for patients and the public; and

• put the fund on a much firmer footing for the future, as it faces increasing demand and growing financial pressure.

NHS England will publicly consult for four weeks on a number of proposals, which include – for the first time – the consideration of the cost of cancer drugs, when deciding whether a drug should be available or not on the national cancer drug fund list."

The consultation will close at midnight on Friday 31 October.

Here is one possible response.  "The continuation of the CDF, would:

• reduce access to clinically effective drugs for patients with diseases other than cancer;
• have absolutely no effect on pharmaceutical pricing; and
• put the NHS in a worse financial position and result in a net reduction in health outcomes.