Committee welcomes improved access to medicines

31.01.2014

 

Changes to the way new medicines are accessed and approved in Scotland have today been welcomed by the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee.

 

Access to medicine has been a key focus for the work of the Committee over the past year and in a report published in July 2013, the Committee made it clear that significant improvements were needed to create a more transparent system for accessing new medicines.

In a report published today, the Scottish Medicines Consortium said that decisions made will reflect the views of patients as well as the clinicians who treat them.

Speaking following the announcement, Committee Convener Duncan McNeil MSP said:

“It was clear to us during our inquiry that very real barriers were in place preventing patients from accessing the medicine they so desperately needed. It was also clear that there were no easy answers or quick fixes.

“However, it was important that our Committee voiced the concerns of the thousands of people affected and we are glad that the Scottish Government and the SMC have responded to these concerns.

“We know there is still a lot of work which needs to be done to ensure that these changes work in practice. We will continue to monitor access to medicines and hear from all of those concerned to ensure that these changes have the impact needed.”

Background

The Committee’s work began on this issue in response to three petitions to the Parliament on behalf of patients suffering from rare and orphan illnesses.

The Committee’s report was published in July 2013 and more information on this as well can be found on the Committee’s webpage:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/52064.aspx