UK: Patients are denied high cost drugs by NHS trusts

Family doctors are being prevented from prescribing drugs for conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis as NHS managers attempt to make drastic budget cuts, an investigation has found.
By Stephen Adams, and Laura Roberts
12 Apr 2011

Primary care trusts are adding more medicines to their so-called "red lists" which means they can only be prescribed by a hospital consultant and not a GP.

The measure is designed to save money by restricting access to drugs that are often among the more expensive. It also means that many patients find it more difficult to obtain the most effective drugs free on the NHS, even though they have been approved by the medicines rationing watchdog Nice.

Patients' groups described the disclosure as "outrageous" and "extremely worrying". the rest