Statement on Cancer Drugs Fund usage
Extra funding this government has provided for cancer drugs has helped almost 18,500 people since October 2010.
Included below is information on the number of patients who have received cancer drugs and spend by strategic health authority (SHA) under the interim cancer drugs funding arrangements in 2010-11 (from October 2010 to the end of March 2011) and under the Cancer Drugs Fund (from April 2011 to the end of March 2012).
This information is published alongside a bulletin from the National Cancer Action Team, which provides a breakdown of the cancer drugs provided by region. This will allow people to identify and challenge locally any variations in the” drugs made available through the Cancer Drugs Fund.
Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said:
Cancer patients, no matter where they live should have access to the drugs their doctors recommend, which is why we introduced the Cancer Drugs Fund.
By publishing this data, patients can see how the Fund is being used in their area and across the country.
We can see that the Cancer Drugs Fund is making a difference to the lives of thousands of people with cancer. The amount of funding we have made available has been more than sufficient to provide clinicians with the freedom to provide the cancer drugs they believe will benefit their patients.
Strategic health authority
Number of patients funded
2010-11
Amount spent 2010-11
£0002
Number of patients funded
2011-12
Amount spent
2011-12
£0002
Number of patients funded
2012-13 to end June 2012
Amount spent 2012-13
to end June 2012
£000
Total number of patients funded Oct 2010 to end June 20121
North East
420
5,249
696
6,834
119
888
1,235
North West
266
7,400
1,044
10,015
360
3,669
1,670
Yorkshireand theHumber
178
1,400
809
4,926
636
388
1,623
East Midlands
178
3,157
871
9,624
240
332
1,289
West Midlands
292
2,400
1,658
14,062
416
6,470
2,366
East ofEngland
246
4,286
1,486
12,659
420
4,500
2,152
London
443
5,915
1,364
20,560
392
7,263
2,199
South East Coast
306
2,159
1,241
10,765
243
4,785
1,790
South Central
290
3,200
1,170
5,318
192
858
1,652
South West
161
3,088
1,459
13,565
890
5,187
2,510
Total
2,780
38,254
11,798
108,327
3,908
34,340
18,486
Source: information supplied to the Department of Health by SHAs
Notes:
1 Some individual patients may be double-counted where a patient has received more than one drug treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund
2 These figures include end of year spending commitments
3 Spend figures have been rounded to the nearest £000
Also published today is a bulletin on the Cancer Drugs Fund from the National Cancer Action Team (NCAT). NCAT worked with ten Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) to gather and share information on how the Cancer Drugs Fund is being used.