Neil Hamilton, MS for Mid & West Wales, and Leader of UKIP Wales has welcomed news of extra cash to speed up access to new medicines in Wales.
Mr Hamilton, a member of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs committee, said he was pleased to hear an additional £16m has been allocated to extend the New Treatment Fund.
He said:
“I am delighted to see an increase in funding for this vital scheme which will enable people in Wales to have quicker access to new medicines as they become available.
“I firmly believe that any drug which can help to prolong life or ease suffering should be readily and quickly available for Welsh patients.
“The fund has already helped to prolong and improve thousands of lives across the country and I am pleased to see extra cash to ensure this continues until April 22.
The New Treatment Fund has enabled quicker access to over 265 medicines to treat more than 100 health conditions since it was established by the Welsh Government in 2017.
It has cut the average time it takes for newly-recommended medicines to become available to patients by 85 per cent, from 90 to 13 days.
The Fund has sped up access to medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE and the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group, AWMSG.
Treatment for health conditions including Cancer, HIV, Multiple Sclerosis and Cystic Fibrosis have all been made available much quicker to patients thanks to the £80m fund.
As well as the cost of medicines, the New Treatment Fund covers the costs of equipment needed to administer a medicine and the cost of holding extra clinics to treat and monitor patients.
Medicines including Sarilumab and Tocilizumab, made available via the New Treatment Fund to treat arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, are also now able to be rapidly deployed by the NHS for use in the management of COVID-19.
