| That’s the claim of the 84-year-old man’s local councillor, who has been approached for help by the veteran’s distressed wife.
She is having to pay over £100 every two months for drugs she says have moved her husband out of a wheelchair and able to take a daily walk.
She is not prepared to give up her fight to get them free on the NHS. So she wants her husband’s story to be told, but wishes to remain anonymous.
Brackens councillor Ian Borthwick told the Tele today an NHS boss had failed to convince him of the argument that no postcode lottery is operating in Tayside.
“There is a postcode lottery operating and it is unacceptable,” said Mr Borthwick. “There is an injustice.”
Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s six years ago, the war veteran was refused the drug on the NHS and went to a private hospital in Aberdeen where he was given a prescription.
However, his wife has since learned that some patients in Dundee are being prescribed the drug free of charge on the NHS.
In a written reply to Mr Borthwick from NHS Tayside’s chief operating officer Gerry Marr, there is an acceptance some local patients are being given the drugs after being referred to a consultant in Angus. However Mr Marr denies this is a postcode lottery.
The drug Memantine is not recommended for general use by NHS Scotland but in exceptional cases a consultant can prescribe the drug.
A consultant in Angus is prescribing it to some patients and if Dundee patients have a GP in Angus, they could be put on the drug.
Mr Borthwick is not claiming his constituent would have been prescribed the drug by the Angus consultant.
However, he adds, “He was discriminated against because he wasn’t even given the chance to go through the exceptional cases process because he attends a GP in Dundee.”
In his letter Mr Marr explained, “If a GP in Dundee was to prescribe Memantine, this would be outwith the agreed process.”
“In Angus, GPs do prescribe, but only once patients have been through the exceptional case process. However, they are only prescribing on behalf of the Angus consultant.
“The GP does not make the decision.
“As Dundee patients may have an Angus GP this can give rise to the appearance of an anomaly or ‘postcode lottery’ when this is not the case.”
Mr Borthwick completely disagrees.
“It is not an appearance of a postcode lottery to me. It is a postcode lottery. My constituent has an exemplary war record, worked hard all his days and this is how he gets treated.
“His wife is very upset but she is a fighter. She is not prepared to give in.” |
