British National Health Service denies care

May 22nd, 2008 | by Brian T. Schwartz |

From the Daily Mail :

How the NHS is letting my father die - by a top hospital consultant

by Sarah Anderson

Eye specialist Sarah Anderson works at York Hospital . Her father Ian has been refused Sutent, a new cancer drug, which could provide the only real chance of prolonging his life. Sarah, 40, lives in York with husband, Bill, a computer programmer and their twins, Douglas and Ryan, five.

As an ophthalmologist, I have spent my working life in the NHS. And for all its perceived failings, I have been proud of its fundamental role in our society - to provide equality of care for all.

Of course, I’ve heard the term postcode lottery but as a doctor I’ve only ever provided my patients with the best course of treatment available.

So when I’ve read about people being refused particular drugs simply because of where they lived, I’ve always believed there must be another reason - even if it wasn’t immediately obvious at the time.

I never for a moment thought that a life could be decided by something as arbitrary as one’s address.

Yet that is what has happened to my father. And it is only now, sitting on the side of the patient, that I have seen the injustice inherent in our system and the devastation it can cause.