NHS approved drugs access delayed in Guernsey

Access to some medical drugs and treatments for patients in Guernsey has been delayed.

In January 2020, the States of Guernsey agreed to a two-year trial to phase-in wider access to NHS approved NICE treatments.

The States explained deferring treatments was due to "tight finances" and the cost of the response and recovery from Covid-19.

The trial was expected to cost of £14m over two years.

Previously 160 out of 480 NICE technology appraisal drug and non-drug treatments had to be funded privately by patients if they wished to to access them.

The change was set to make 93 of them available on Guernsey's health service.

The States said there was "no recommendation to cease this policy" but that the rollout would be slower than planned, and the policy relating to the more expensive drugs on the list would be reassessed after two years.

Patients on the trial say it has allowed them to live a "happier life".

Sophie Creed, aged 21, has been receiving more effective drugs to treat cystic fibrosis since November 2020 under the trial.

She explained the access to better medication has allowed her to regularly work, live a more normal lifestyle and spend quality time with friends.

Ms Creed said: "It keeps me healthy and well for longer - it means that I can live a longer happier life without feeling the implications of the illness that I have and that is the biggest thing for me."

She added the improved quality of life from the treatments is "important for people's mental wellbeing as well as their physical".

Ms Creed will continue to receive her improved treatments but others waiting for different drugs and treatments, planned to be introduced after the trial, will not.

Mike Reed, a campaigner for better medical treatment in Guernsey, explained 3,000 patients are receiving "older sub-optimal, cheaper drugs."

"Our health service, like our harbours, looks great from a distance, but on closer look reveals years of under investment," he said.

In the Government work plan the States is prioritising responding to Covid-19, managing the effects of Brexit, re-shaping government and recovery actions.

Vice-President of the Policy and Resources Committee, Heidi Soulsby explained that the trial had been set up before the pandemic.

Deputy Soulsby said: "We have to think about the competing priorities we have with tight finances.

"It is just a deferral and it's about trying to get a balance here."

The former President of Health and Social Care added the delay would allow the States to increase investment in reducing waiting times for medical care and mental health treatment.

A spokesperson for the States said: "With an ageing demographic, a growing demand for increasingly specialist services and continued clinical developments, healthcare is getting more and more expensive.

"Covid-19 has made these decisions more difficult, but Health and Social Care will continue to provide the best services it can with the funding made available to it."