Arthritis patients denied access to treatments
Patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis are still being denied access to vital treatments, new research has found.
This is despite guidance introduced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in 2002 instructing health care trusts to provide them.
The research by the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) and the Arthritis Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA) shows that 31 per cent of doctors are unable to provide treatment to all qualifying patients.
This is only a small improvement over a survey by ARMA in 2003, in which 33 per cent of doctors were unable to prescribe such treatments.
An estimated 1,700 rheumatoid arthritis patients are being denied anti-TNFa drugs from which they could benefit, today’s survey shows.
BSR president Professor David Isenberg described the results as “very disappointing”.
He said: “It is immensely frustrating for doctors to have patients who clearly qualify for anti-TNFa intervention but are unable to get it. These drugs offer hope and relief to people who have severe rheumatoid arthritis, and are likely to be affected by high levels of pain and disability, making their day to day living very difficult.”
Of those doctors unable to provide treatment, over 50 per cent cited lack of funding as the reason.
Conservative Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley urged the Government to take action to ensure the treatment was made available and resources were getting through to the front line.
“The purpose of appraisals through the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to establish treatment that is clinically and financially effective,” he said.
“If NICE’s recommendations were implemented, the postcode lottery would disappear.
The research, which looked at 148 rheumatology units across the UK, also found that doctors were unable to provide anti-TNFa treatments to people with other arthritis related conditions such as ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis.
NICE is currently developing guidance for treating these, but the lack of existing approval is proving to be a barrier to treating these conditions, the research showed.
Professor Isenberg added: “NICE guidance was developed to combat this type of inequality, but it isn’t working for all of our patients. It is wrong that some people are being left with unnecessary pain and disability. The Department of Health should remind health trusts they need to take urgent and immediate action to ensure people get the treatment they are entitled to.”
