MS sufferer from Great Kingshill calls for change to policy on cannabis drug

3:25pm Tuesday 23rd November 2010

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a 66-YEAR-OLD who suffers from multiple sclerosis has called for a cannabis-based drug to be prescribed by the NHS in Buckinghamshire.

Sativex, an oral spray designed to reduce pain, has taken 11 years to develop and was first licensed by NHS in June this year.

The move was widely welcomed by MS sufferers and campaigners, but it was decided that NHS Buckinghamshire, the county’s primary care trust, would not routinely prescribe the drug.

it was labelled a “low priority” and not cost effective in July, leaving Great Kingshill resident Peter Bridger disappointed.

The dad-of-four had been on a trial for Sativex for four years, but came off the drug 18 months ago when the trial ended.

he said: “It really really worked. as soon as I came off it my waterworks went haywire and I had to be fitted with a pipe through my tummy.

“It helped with the spasms, the bladder problems, the pain and the dizziness – that’s four of the main five symptoms.”

NHS Buckinghamshire does fund Sativex, but only in exceptional circumstances.

it said it welcomes an application by Mr Bridger for his case to be considered by a funding review panel.

Mr Bridger said he will prepare an application, but believes the drug should be routinely proscribed. it costs £11-a-day to buy privately.

The MS Society shares this view and Dr Jayne Spink, a director of the charity, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed by enquiries from people across England who are struggling to access the treatment; it’s clear it’s subject to a postcode lottery.”

“The reality is that people with MS living in this area face a complicated and time consuming process to get Sativex, where as people in other parts of England are using and benefiting from the drug now.”

NHS Warwickshire is one primary care trust which does prescribe it.

Mr Bridger, a former engineer, believes there is a stigma surrounding cannabis, which may have affected the thinking of the NHS in Bucks.

he said: “It’s the fact it’s made from cannabis and all the feeling that provokes, there’s a fear of it and that gets in the way of the science.”

Jenny Murray, a spokesman for NHS Buckinghamshire, said: “We are committed to carefully considering each case and processing funding requests as quickly as possible, paying particular attention to the evidence of safety and effectiveness of the proposed treatment and the individual circumstances of the patient.”

She said if sufficient information is provided for the panel, decisions about funding cases take no longer than six weeks.

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