Spend on cancer per patient in England 2006 - 2007

£8,131

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
The PCT has a patient request pathway for treatments not generally available on the NHS and an appeals policy. The PCT uses the same process and procedures for requests for funding of cancer treatment as for other applications for funding of treatments which are not normally funded by the NHS.  However, because of the frequent urgency of cancer treatment requests and the fact the the Panel only meets monthly, decisions can be taken out of Panel and reported to the Panel.  In particular this is the case where the PCT has a clear policy for a specific treatment requested.

A list of policy statements on treatments has been approved by the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Priorities Committee are listed on the Milton Keynes PCT website. The PCT notes that policy 20, related to herceptin for early breast cancer, is outdated.  The drug is now funded following NICE guidance.  The PCT points out that there is a long list of new cancer drugs for which there is not yet a policy.  There is never a complete ban on cancer treatments and this is the very reason for the existence of the Priorities Panel which assesses individual cases. In contrast, the Priorities Committee develops policies.

Cancer treatments funded by PCT following exceptional requests

Since 01 October 2006, the PCT have approved funding for three patients.  The treatments funded were:

• Tarceva (Erlotinib)
• Sunitinib
• Alemtuxumab

Cancer treatments not funded by PCT following exceptional requests

Since 01 October 2006, one treatment was not funded: Tarceva (Erlotinib)