4. 4. Statement: Establishment of the New Treatment Fund and the Independent Review of the Individual Patient Funding Request Process

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:54 pm on 27 September 2016.

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Photo of Angela Burns Angela Burns Conservative 3:54, 27 September 2016

Not yet. Probably shortly, but not quite yet. I’m really pleased by the way you’ve set this up. We’ve had a number of conversations, with Rhun, with Caroline, between us. I’m really pleased with the collaborative manner in which you’ve approached this. I’m really pleased that we’ve been involved. But above all, I’m really pleased about two things. One is the absolute independence of the chair, and the fact that the chair has got commercial experience of running a people-centred organisation, and has not just come out from our small pool of talent within Wales, because we do need fresh ideas, fresh blood and a fresh perspective, and that individual certainly brings that to the party.

The second thing that I’m exceptionally pleased to hear is that you are making the patient voice an overarching theme for this review. Because, at the end of the day, this is all about the patient. They are first, second and last in this. And I’m very, very pleased to hear that they are going to be the overarching theme—it’s not just going to be the members of the panel, but all of the evidence that you take. So, absolutely, hats off to you. Congratulations. I’m really pleased about that.

I was delighted to meet Andrew Blakeman and we had a very useful conversation. There was only one question I asked him that he wasn’t clear on. I’ve asked him to go back and check the remit with you. It comes from some of the cases that I have dealt with in my constituency, and that is over whether or not he’ll be looking at the issue of co-funding. It’s a very difficult issue. It can be very contentious. But, some of the times, when I’ve dealt with patients who’ve been desperate to try to access a drug that they haven’t been able to access—and they want to go through the independent patient system that we have now—when they’ve had a no, they’ve sometimes asked, then, if they can go off and do other types of funding. All I wanted to know was whether or not he’s going to look at it. I suspect not, which is fine, but I just wanted that clarity, because I pointed out to him that that is going to be one of the outcomes that comes out of this whole process and will eventually have to be an area where you as Welsh Government and the NHS are going to have to make some kind of very clear line so that patients know exactly where they are.