Woman fights for NHS cancer drug

Last Modified: 04 Jul 2008
Source: ITN

A woman terminally ill with kidney cancer could now be given a drug which could prolong her life, after a High Court ruling.

Sutent has not yet been approved by the government and is not automatically available on the NHS.

The cost of the prescription for Jean Murphy, a 62-year-old grandmother from Salford, could run into tens of thousands pounds and she has twice been refused a drug by Salford Primary Care Trust.

The trust has only prescribed the drug to a patient once before, though it is more widely available in neighbouring Cheshire.

Mr Justice Burnett said the commissioning panel who looked at Mrs Murphy's application had failed to consider the matter "in the round", including the fact that she is responsible for her husband's day-to-day care and needs.

He added: "It will be a matter for the commissioning panel to determine whether exceptional funding should flow. The legal error in the decision-making process does not lead to the conclusion that the decision will necessarily be different."

Jean's solicitor Mark McGee said: "The irony is the cost of the case today has probably now cost the total cost of the drug for the rest of her life."

Dr Mike Burrows from the trust said before the ruling: "We have a limited amount of resources and have to make decisions on which treatments we are prepared to fund and which we cannot fund. we have to use health economics to support those decisions."

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