AVAILABILITY OF PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY

That this House is increasingly aware that patient demand for photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of a range of cancers and other conditions is not being met by the NHS; notes that the treatment is much less invasive and less traumatic for patients compared to surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, is usually substantially cheaper for the NHS, and that a growing body of evidence points to PDT's impressive survival rates over and above other treatment options; further notes that increased campaigning in the media by former PDT patients and celebrities is only going to increase this demand; and urgently calls on the Government and the Department of Health to take up the offer from the Killing Cancer charity to equip a network of 25 regional treatment and research centres to jointly fund new trials with the charity and to actively recommend and encourage NHS trusts to make available the existing NICE-approved PDT treatments to patients across the UK.