Mesothelioma And Access To Alimta

EDM number 2848 in 2005-06, proposed by Michael Clapham on 24/10/2006.

That this House is aware that since July 2005 mesothelioma victims in Scotland have had access to the drug Alimta, which is the only licensed treatment for this tumour; welcomes the decision of the Cancer Networks and primary care trusts that have made Alimta available in parts of England and Wales; urges them and the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland to stand by their decision irrespective of what the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) decides at the appeal hearing on 27th October 2006; notes that Alimta is priced lower in the UK than in other European countries and that the NHS budget impact for 2006 will only be £3 million; is concerned that NICE has indicated that it is currently not minded to recommend Alimta despite accepting its efficacy; calls on it to reconsider the applicability of its appraisal methodology; recognises the additional duty of care on Government to workers from the former nationalised industries negligently exposed to asbestos; and calls on the Secretary of State for Health to acknowledge that, in this case, she has a wider social responsibility that goes beyond the NICE definition of cost-effectiveness.

This motion has been signed by a total of 99 MPs.