Press Centre

RNIB backs Kent pensioner's fight for sight saving treatment on NHS

Summary: Latest press release regarding the refusal of West Kent PCT to fund sight saving treatment for local pensioner.

• Notes to Editors

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The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has backed a Kent pensioner’s fight for sight-saving treatment from the NHS.

Robert Wood, 76, of Tunbridge Wells, has the devastating eye disease wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in both eyes. Wet AMD can lead to blindness in as little as three months. But despite this critical situation, West Kent Primary Care Trust (PCT) has refused to fund treatment. This means that Mr Wood either has to pay for treatment or lose his sight. On 17 July, he was informed that he had lost his appeal against the decision.

Mr Wood said: “I can’t believe that my local PCT is so cruel as to neglect me when I most need them. If I were living down the road in East Sussex I would be getting treatment by now. But now I am having to fight tooth and nail to get the treatment I need. I don’t understand how I am not eligible for treatment if I have wet AMD in both eyes. The whole system is unfair.”

West Kent PCT has a restrictive policy for funding anti-VEGF drugs, such as Lucentis and Macugen, which treat wet AMD. This means that some patients who desperately need treatment to save their sight don't get it.

By contrast, most PCTs in England are now following the latest draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) which recommends funding Lucentis as standard for all who need it. NICE’s final and legally binding guidance on anti-VEGF treatments is currently at the appeal stage and should be published later this year.

Barbara McLaughlan, Campaigns Manager at RNIB, said: "It is outrageous that Mr Wood should be denied sight-saving treatment by West Kent PCT. They are forcing him to make the stark choice between spending his life savings on treatment or going blind.

"In most other areas of the country, including East Sussex and Bromley, Mr Wood would be receiving treatment as standard. But by using narrow funding criteria to decide who qualifies for treatment, the PCT is squeezing patients out of a healthcare system that should be providing them with sight-saving treatment. This is totally unacceptable and RNIB strongly urges West Kent PCT to change its restrictive funding policy and start saving the sight of patients in their care now."

Mr Wood’s case follows this month's legal challenge to Warwickshire PCT's funding policy for wet AMD treatment at the High Court in London. The court case was adjourned on Monday until 28 July. Lawyers for the three elderly patients backed by RNIB, challenged the PCT’s funding policy because not a single patient had been given funding for anti-VEGF treatment, despite over 50 applying for it.

RNIB and the Macular Disease Society have an advocacy service called Action for AMD Treatment. Any patient needing help accessing licensed anti-VEGF treatments should call RNIB's helpline on 0845 766 9999 or the Macular Disease Society helpline on 0845 241 2041.

[End of press release]

For further media information or to interview case studies or an RNIB spokesperson, please contact Christina Nicolaidou or Yashoda Sutton, RNIB Press Office, on 020 7391 2223 (out of hours mobile: 07968 482812). Reference: 39

Notes to Editors

1. AMD is the leading cause of sight loss in the UK and wet AMD can lead to blindness in as little as three months if left untreated. Each year 26,000 people in the UK develop wet AMD and approximately a quarter of a million people in the UK are thought to have the condition. People need prompt treatment if they are to minimise the risk of permanent sight loss.

2. Two anti-VEGF treatments are licensed for use in the UK: Macugen, marketed by Pfizer, was licensed for use in May 2006, and Lucentis, marketed by Novartis was licensed for use in January 2007.

3. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising Macugen and Lucentis. Until NICE issues final guidance, the Department of Health says it has ‘made it clear to PCTs that funding for treatments should not be withheld simply because guidance from NICE is unavailable’. The appraisal began in February 2006.

4. Warwickshire PCT does not fund anti-VEGF drugs despite draft guidance issued (2 April 2008) by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommending the use of Lucentis to treat patients with wet AMD.

5. Every day another 100 people will start to lose their sight. There are around two million people in the UK with sight problems. RNIB is the leading charity working in the UK offering practical support, advice and information for anyone with sight difficulties. If you, or someone you know, has a sight problem, RNIB can help. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0845 766 9999.

6. RNIB and The Macular Disease Society launched an AMD advocacy service called Action for AMD Treatments. Any patient needing help accessing licensed anti-VEGF treatments should call RNIB’s Helpline on 0845 766 9999.

Content author: pressoffice@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 18/07/2008 15:01