Oral Answers to Questions

Tracy Brabin Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd July 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Health (Stephen Hammond)]

My hon. Friend has campaigned on this matter for a while, and I was pleased to meet him to discuss it earlier in the year. We absolutely recognise the challenge that small acute providers face, and over the past two years the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation has been considering how we might meet that challenge. The committee has endorsed a new community services formula to reflect the pressure in remote areas, which may help the two hospitals mentioned by my hon. Friend.

[Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab/Co-op)]

T3. My constituent Catherine is undergoing post-operative breast cancer treatment. A new drug, Pertuzumab, which has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, has been shown to improve a woman’s life chances. The drug was prescribed for Catherine by her oncologist at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, but that was overruled by NHS England, although in the neighbouring trust patients are allowed it. Can the Minister guarantee that women who could extend their lives by taking this drug have access to it, no matter where they live?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Seema Kennedy)]

When drugs have been approved by NICE, there is an obligation to prescribe them. If the hon. Lady will write to me, I shall be able to look into this matter more closely.