Cancer patients in Scotland will miss out on drugs which are now available to sufferers in England through a new treatment fund, campaigners have warned.
The Rarer Cancers Foundation (RCF) said 18 treatments had been rejected for use on the NHS in Scotland, many used in less common diseases such as kidney and bone cancers.
But a new cancer drugs fund being launched in England today should mean that more patients south of the Border will receive therapies which have also been rejected by watchdogs there.
The RCF has written to First Minister Alex Salmond calling for action to address the “worrying inequality” now in danger of emerging.
It says the rejected drugs could benefit an estimated 260 Scots and would cost about £5 million over a six-month period.
In his letter to Mr Salmond, RCF chief executive Andrew Wilson condemned what he called “an unacceptable lottery”.
“Battling cancer is hard enough without having to fight the system to get access to the treatments your clinician thinks you need.
The Scotsman