Archive
-
December 2007 (25)
-
November 2007 (25)
-
October 2007 (28)
-
September 2007 (25)
-
August 2007 (18)
Subscribe
Health News RSS feed
Health News
NHS may bill breast cancer patient
A woman with breast cancer may be forced to pay for her NHS treatment if she elects to spend her own money on additional medicines.
Colette Mills, who is a former nurse, has been receiving chemotherapy with the drug Taxol on the NHS, but had planned to pay for additional treatment with Avastin.
Avastin is mainly used to treat bowel cancer, but is under trial for use in other conditions, including breast cancer. It is not currently available on the NHS.
However, under current NHS rules, patients are not allowed to 'top-up' their treatment using their own funds. The South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust has said that if Mrs Mills goes ahead with additional private therapy she will become liable to pay for the entire course of her NHS treatment, which is reported to cost £10,000.
'If I want to pay for Avastin, I must pay for everything,' said Mrs Mills, quoted in The Telegraph. 'It's immoral that the drugs are out there and freely available to certain people, yet they say I cannot have it.'
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: 'Co-payments would risk creating a two-tier health service and be in direct contravention with the principles and values of the NHS.'
Category: Medical Insurance
Latest News Stories