CANCER DRUGS FUND AND NHS COMMISSIONING BOARD

That this House is aware that the Department of Health will shortly transfer responsibility for the Cancer Drugs Fund to the NHS Commissioning Board, causing authority for decisions on which drugs and treatments are reimbursed to move from a regional to a national level; understands that a national list of approved drugs and treatments has now been drawn up by the new authority, which excludes a number of drugs and treatments currently approved in some regions; is alarmed therefore that such a transition of responsibility has already caused some patients not to have access to the drugs or therapies they need; and calls on the Government to fulfil its earlier pledges that this organisational change would not cause such an outcome but instead better facilitate sufferers' access to the treatments they need.