MS SUFFERER FACES HUGE BILL

NHS Will Not Fund Spray Refused Licence

A GRANDMOTHER suffering from multiple sclerosis faces forking out more
than UKP 2,000 a year for a painkilling cannabis-based drug after NHS
chiefs refused to fund it.

Sheila Clarke, 63, of Sleights, near Whitby, has enjoyed her best
nights of rest for years since she began using the spray in February.
She decided to pay for the drug herself to see if it helped her
overcome excruciating night-time cramps which mean at times she cannot
sleep. But when she applied for the NHS to fund the treatment, which
costs UKP 5 a day, officials refused - despite its availability in other
parts of the country. Mrs Clarke, who uses crutches to get about, said
she initially decided to pay for the drug called Sativex because she
did not want to burden the NHS with the cost if it did not work.

Her GP had agreed to privately prescribe the treatment, which is
imported under a special licence from Canada, and she immediately
noticed it eased the pain she suffers at night from multiple sclerosis
which she contracted 23 years ago.

Her improved sleeping pattern had left her feeling happier and
enhanced the quality of her life significantly, giving her the energy
to get out to visit friends.

She said: "It's led to a big reduction in pain. "Before it wasn't a
life, it was more of an existence. Now everybody I know says I'm so
much better. I move a lot better and am a lot happier and more relaxed.

"It just doesn't seem right that some people are having it funded by
the NHS and others aren't."

Her MP Robert Goodwill said he was taking up the issue with Ministers.
"In other parts of the country people are getting this drug - it's
clearly a postcode lottery," he said.

"Mrs Clarke has paid tax all her life and never been a burden on the
state and expected the best possible care on the NHS if that time came
but now that time has come, she's not getting it."

A spokesman for the Multiple Sclerosis Society said some people were
receiving it on the NHS, others were paying for it privately and
another group was being denied it altogether as some doctors had been
advised not to prescribe it.

"It's clearly an unsatisfactory state of affairs. We have said for
some time with the evidence available that cannabis-derived drugs
ought to be available to people with symptoms of pain and spasticity
for which other treatments have not worked," he said.

"Different rules apply depending on where you live and it's not the
first time there has been a postcode lottery for MS patients." The
treatment contains two chemicals found in cannabis. It has been
refused a licence by the regulatory authorities in Britain which say
its manufacturer has failed to prove its efficacy or that its risks
outweighed its benefits. Side effects are known to include dizziness,
drowsiness, fatigue and confusion.

Last year the Home Office gave it an import licence allowing it to be
used by named patients. About 500 are believed to be taking it
nationwide. Its manufacturers are expected to apply again for a
licence. A spokesman for Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Primary Care
Trust (PCT) said it did not support the use of Sativex following
advice by the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Medicines
Commission which have both ruled against its availability.

"Each PCT must make its own decision based on the evidence provided;
our position is reflected the stance of the Committee on Safety of
Medicines and the Medicines Commission," he added.