Scotland provides template on drugs

EVERYONE will have sympathy with the family of eightyear-old cystic fibrosis sufferer Sofia Bow, whose family face the possibility of having to uproot themselves from Wales and move to Scotland so she can get the drugs she desperately needs to prolong her life.

Most people find it difficult to understand how a drug that has been approved in one part of the UK remains unapproved in other UK countries. It is, perhaps, a down side of devolution – although there seems no good reason why a common framework can’t be established to eliminate inconsistencies.

The dilemma facing Sofia’s parents is not unique, and is one that has arisen on a number of occasions in the years since the National Assembly was established.

Ultimately the decision will be linked to financial considerations.

We like to believe that the NHS will provide free of charge any treatment or pharmaceutical drug that patients require.

In reality, that isn’t the case. Hard-headed decisions are taken about which drugs should be made available on the basis partly of the drug’s effectiveness, but partly on affordability.

Many pharmaceutical drugs are very expensive.

In the case of the two drugs sought for Sofia, the cost runs to £100,000 per person per year.

The NHS does not have access to unlimited resources.

It also has to be recognised that pharmaceutical companies exist in the private sector, and want to make a profit out of selling their drugs. They make the point that they have spent high sums on research, often over many years, to devise the drugs that patients with specialist needs require.

But it is not unknown for drug companies to over-egg the pudding, and to seek returns that provide what many would regard as excessive profits.

We do not suggest that is the case in this instance, but clearly the NHS, as a publicly funded body, has a responsibility to safeguard the interests of taxpayers.

It seems that the Scottish Government has taken a balanced approach towards getting access to the drugs cystic fibrosis patients in Scotland need. It has negotiated a discount with the drug company concerned, and patients and taxpayers will benefit as a result.

Such an agreement provides a template for how this issue should be resolved in Wales, and we hope the Welsh Government and the company will sort this out soon to everyone’s satisfaction.