Dai Havard

Labour Party | Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney

Welsh Cancer Patients Miss Out On Important Treatment

Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney MP Dai Havard has expressed his “deep disappointment” that the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) has turned down the greater use in the NHS in Wales of Erythropoietin (EPO) therapy for cancer related anaemia.

The AWMSG, which assesses medicines for use in the NHS in Wales and advises the Minister for Health, said yesterday (December 2) it would not give the go ahead for increased use of the therapy, at this time, because the infrastructure for cancer anaemia management is not in place. 

The Group also said it would wait until the therapy was eventually reviewed by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) when more evidence on the use of EPO might be available.

Dai Havard MP said;

“I wrote to the Group who have made this decision but it seems my contribution was not taken into account. I am also concerned that advice from the Welsh Blood Service was apparently not considered before making this decision. Improved use of NHS resources and the protection of the blood supply seem to have been ignored.

I am not convinced this decision is a sound one and I believe Assembly Health Minister Jane Hutt should urgently look again at this advice. Cancer patients in Wales will continue to  miss out on the chance of a better quality of life the longer this decision stands .

NHS Wales is better placed than England to make greater use now of this treatment and give improved quality of life to cancer patients.”

Dr Ivor Cavill, Senior Lecturer and Hon. Consultant Clinical Scientist at the University of Wales College of Medicine in Cardiff said:

“It is clear we need to treat patients with the anaemia of cancer properly. 

“Patients should not be denied the most effective treatment or drug just because we don’t have the infrastructure to deal with it. It’s time to address this imbalance.”

Dai Havard MP’s constituency of Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney has one of the highest incidences of cancer in the UK, and he has long campaigned for the increased use of Erythropoietin as an alternative to blood transfusion – the common treatment for cancer related anaemia.

More than 60% of cancer patients are likely to suffer from anaemia as a result of the disease itself or, more commonly, as a result of the treatment they receive.

The resulting fatigue can make everyday tasks such as brushing hair or cleaning teeth almost impossible.  The condition has been likened to “walking through treacle.”

Fatigue as a result of anaemia is recognised to be the most debilitating side effect of cancer treatment, more so than pain and nausea.

Dai Havard MP said;

“I donated blood on the day this decision was being made and I know blood supplies in Wales, Scotland and England are at their lowest and continue to raise concern.

It makes no sense for the NHS to continue to rely on blood transfusions to treat cancer patients when effective and safer alternatives could be used. It is bad use of a vital and valuable commodity and does not give a better quality of care for cancer patients. NHS Wales could start to do something positive about that now but have chosen not too.”