Warwickshire: Woman in High Court sight battle

A woman who could lose her sight has been given permission for a test case at the High Court to try to get an NHS Trust to fund her treatment - reports the BBC.

Warwickshire Primary Care Trust refused to pay for Patricia Meadow's eye treatment, even though the drug is available in other areas.

The trust took a "resource-based" decision not to fund treatment, the court heard, meaning it has insufficient funding from central government to provide the care Ms Meadows needs.

Ms Meadows suffers from wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in her left eye, and dry intermediate AMD in her right.

There is no treatment for the dry condition, but there is hope that a course of the drug ranibizumab (trade name Lucentis) will save the sight in her left eye.

The High Court heard from her lawyers that objective medical evidence shows a course of the drug has up to a 95% chance of arresting her eyesight deterioration.

They said there was also a chance of it improving her vision and without treatment she could lose her sight in a matter of months.

Her case is being backed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

Mr Justice Undershill gave permission for a judicial review to be heard within a matter of weeks.

David Lock, appearing for the PCT, said that Novartis, the manufacturer of Lucentis, was refusing to provide the support recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice).

He said: "Without the manufacturers support, Nice has clearly advised that this is not a cost-effective treatment.

He said the PCT had to balance a budget of £668m and it was impossible to meet all the needs of patients.

So while this is the case, why has the government agreed to giving the audit-failing European Union a massive and unreasonable 63% increase in payments, taking Britain's contribution to an astonishing £115 million (net) every single week?

It's people like Ms Meadows who are being forced to pay the price of the utter waste of huge amounts of public money on the EU.

Woman 'denied sight-save drugs'

A grandmother has said she will go blind unless she can persuade her local NHS to fund drug treatment - reports the BBC.

Margaret Coates, 79, from Bromley, south-east London, has wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which can lead to blindness in both eyes.

Her local Primary Care Trust (PCT) will not pay for a drug called Lucentis, Mrs Coates said.

Bromley PCT said patients who did not meet London-wide treatment criteria could apply for exceptional treatment.

Wet AMD, which affects the central part of the retina, is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK, affecting around a quarter of a million people.

Last year the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended that NHS patients with wet AMD should be eligible for sight-saving drug Lucentis.

But the availability of the treatment, which can cost thousands of pounds, varies between PCTs.

Mrs Coates, 79, said: "I can't believe the PCT is abandoning me like this when I could lose my sight.

"The thought of going blind terrifies me"

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Macular Disease Society (MDS) are campaigning for Bromley PCT to reverse its decision and fund the treatment.

Bromley PCT said it funds Lucentis treatment for Bromley residents with AMD in line with criteria agreed for the whole of south-east London.

"Patients who do not meet these criteria can apply through their clinician to the PCT's exceptional treatments group," a spokesman said.

In order to qualify there must be an "unusual or unique clinical factor" that differentiates the patient from others with the condition, he said.

Warwickshire: Man in NHS battle 'to save sight'

A man has called his NHS trust "morally wrong" for refusing to fund treatment which could save his sight - reports the BBC.

Raymond Liggins, 76, from Nuneaton, lost the sight in his left eye because of wet macular degeneration and now has the condition in his right eye.

Warwickshire Primary Care Trust has said that it did not routinely fund the "sight-saving" drug Lucentis as it was not recommended in guidance to the NHS.

David Rose, chief executive of Warwickshire PCT, said this was the same as other PCTs in the West Midlands.

But Mr Liggins' case has been backed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Macular Disease Society (MDS).

The RNIB said Mr Liggins had the devastating condition age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which could lead to blindness in as little as three months.

It called for Warwickshire PCT to adopt draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) which recommended Lucentis be made available to all patients who developed AMD.

The RNIB said rapid use of the drug was "vital" as it was able to halt the progress of the condition.

Mr Liggins, who is using his life savings to pay for private treatment, said he and other patients with the condition had been "let down" by the NHS.

"It's morally wrong to let people go blind when there are treatments available," he said.

Mr Liggins, who cares for his wife Olive who recently had a stroke, added: "My wife depends on me to help maintain her balance when we go out shopping, but I won't be able to do this if I lose my sight."

Barbara McLaughan, RNIB campaigns manager, said: "It's an absolute disgrace that he is effectively being told to pay up or go blind," she said.

She added: "The clock is literally ticking for patients like Raymond who risk losing their sight because PCTs are denying them sight-saving treatment."

Mr Rose said it was not appropriate for the PCT to comment publicly on an individual case.

He added: "The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) issues guidance to the NHS on treatments and procedures following extensive trial and review and Warwickshire PCT follows all mandatory NICE guidelines.

NHS leaves war hero to go blind

Ex-RAF flight engineer Dennis Devier, 84, is already blind in one eye and faces going blind in the other, because his local NHS trust has turned down funding for the drug that would save his sight.

Losing his sight fully will mean he can no longer care for his wife Frances, and they would have to be separated for the first time in 60 years - reports the Daily Express.

Mr Devier has been diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration, which can be treated with the drug Lucentis. He has already spent more than £8,000 on private treatment, but the high cost of care is draining his life savings.

Mr Devier said: "If I go blind, it will cost the taxpayer thousands more to look after us both - it's madness."

In his typically plain-speaking style, Mr Devier's local MP Boris Johnson hit the nail on the head when he said: "I find it utterly incredible that we are posing these alternatives to a man at his time of life - cough up, or say goodbye to your eyes."

This is a sad real-world story, no doubt repeated many times across the country, that those MPs intending to reward an audit-failing EU with an extra £2.5bn a year would do well to remember.

Especially if they imagine that boasting about 'record' sums the NHS has received is some kind of justification for approving the obvious waste of large sums on the EU.

Do they really believe the NHS is a 'mission accomplished' - that no more funds are required? This story, and many others, would indicate otherwise.

People like Mr Devier are those who pay a real price of such a lax attitude by some MPs to safeguarding scarce public funds. Those MPs are merely risking their jobs, when the time comes for them to explain such bad choices to local voters.