Doctors take NHS drugs fight to court

1 April 2008

The Daily Telegraph, 1 April 2008

A group of doctors is going to court to try to overturn the Government's ruling that patients cannot buy their own drugs to top up NHS care.

Janet Daley: NHS 'top up' question is about fairness

Currently patients who want to pay for a drug themselves have their NHS care withdrawn and must go private for the entirety of their care.

advertisement

Doctors for Reform say patients should be able to choose whether to purchase treatment they may be denied on the NHS because it is not cost-effective.

Several drugs have been turned down for widespread use on the NHS by the rationing watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, and others are restricted to certain patients who have failed to respond to cheaper medication.

The Department of Health argues that it is not fair to allow wealthier patients to top-up their care and receive medication that a patient in the next bed may be denied.