Spend on cancer per patient in England 2006 - 2007

£5,262

Compare this with other PCTs: highest amount spent was £17,028, lowest was £5,182, and average PCT spend per cancer patient was £8,437.

Exceptional funding for cancer treatment

The following information was requested from the PCT under the Freedom of Information Act.

Written protocols
Bedfordshire PCT does not have written protocols to assess exceptional requests for cancer treatment.  However, the PCT does have an individual case review process for circumstances of exceptionality.  The PCT uses NICE guidance to assess exceptional requests for cancer treatment.  It also uses NICE guidance to assess requests for cancer treatments which have not been approved by NICE.

Patients' exceptional requests for cancer treatments
Bedfordshire PCT was asked to confirm or deny whether any patients' exceptional requests for cancer treatments had been approved by the PCT since 01 October 2006.  The PCT replied "Bedfordshire PCT records all exceptional treatment requests on a database.  However, this database does not record the illness or condition for which the treatment is granted.  Instead, the data captured focuses on individual drugs.  Therefore, we cannot confirm or deny whether any patients' exceptional requests for cancer treatments have been approved by the Trust.  If you provide us with specific drug names or therapies we will be answer (sic) your question".