Lobbying for Greater Clarity on Health Funding Requests
March 6, 2014
Julian has recently been assisting an 8 year old constituent whose family have been fighting for the funding of a specific drug for more than two years. The problem has been exacerbated by a certain degree of confusion over who has responsibility for the constituent’s commissioning requests and NHS England and the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are still in dispute over the issue.
Recently in Health Questions in the House of Commons Julian raised his constituent’s case, asking the Secretary of State:
“The family of one my eight-year-old constituents have been fighting for more than two years for the funding of sodium oxybate—a drug that his doctors feel could help him cope with narcolepsy and cataplexy. This is a particularly distressing condition for my constituent and his family, but sadly, after all this time there is still complete confusion as to who has responsibility for his commissioning request. Will the Secretary of State look into the matter and clear up that confusion?”
The Minister responded by saying:
“I reassure my hon. Friend that I have looked into this case, and NHS England has confirmed that it is responsible for commissioning his care. The particular drug that my hon. Friend mentioned is not recommended by the manufacturer for use by children and adolescents, but I am happy to arrange for him to meet NHS England and get to the bottom of the issue.”
Later Julian commented:
“My constituent and his family have been passed from pillar to post for a long time now and understandably they are fed up with the whole process. I look forward to meeting with representatives from NHS England in the near future to discuss the issue in more detail. Unfortunately there still exists some confusion between our different health bodies over who has responsibility for what and in my opinion the Government absolutely must provide greater clarity if our health services are to work for the people who need them. I will continue working in Parliament to achieve this aim, not just for my young constituent and his family but for the many others who may also be affected.”
