Grandfather appeals against trust refusal of cancer drug

Fred Binch, 78, of Scarborough, has been fighting kidney cancer since 2006 but since Christmas has received no treatment after previous therapies failed.

His doctors applied to North Yorkshire's primary care trust (PCT) for treatment using a new drug, everolimus, which costs 99 a day, but after a series of delays they refused to pay for it last month.

He has now appealed against the decision and the trust will again discuss his case next Friday – 17 weeks after it was first asked to consider it.

Meanwhile Mr Binch's condition is worsening. He said he was having difficulty sleeping and was suffering from breathing difficulties.

"This wait isn't helping. It's a constant worry not knowing what the outcome is going to be," he said.

Julia Black, of the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer, which is supporting Mr Binch, said the case had been beset by a series of bureaucratic delays.

"Fred feels he is deteriorating now on a daily basis. This has been dragged out and dragged out," she said.

"There seems to be no consideration by the PCT to push this through quickly despite the delays there have already been."

The medical director at the PCT, David Geddes, said the organisation was satisfied it was considering the appeal within the 20-day timeframe that was set. He could not comment further because of patient confidentiality.

He said the trust's individual case panel made decisions about funding treatments for conditions falling outside guidance issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) which are not routinely commissioned by the NHS. Everolimus was not a cure but had been developed to treat other cancers.

"It is not routinely commissioned to treat kidney cancer by any primary care trust in the Yorkshire and Humber region," he added.

The new coalition Government yesterday confirmed it would create a cancer drugs fund for patients – although it will have to be paid for from existing resources. Ministers also plan to reform Nice, which could make more treatments available on the NHS.

Experts at Nice will make a decision about whether to prescribe everolimus on the NHS shortly.

Its manufacturer Novartis has agreed to make it available for free on the NHS for the first month and from then at a five per cent discount but it will still cost 2,822 for a pack of 30 tablets for a month's treatment, raising doubts about whether it will be judged cost-effective.