BMJ  2008;336:1265 (7 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.39602.519977.DB

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NHS faces legal action over copayment for private drugs while receiving NHS care

¹ BMJ

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The NHS is likely to face a High Court action soon about cancer patients’ right to top up their care with drugs paid for privately while they continue to receive the rest of their treatment free.

At least two patients have lodged claims that challenge the Department of Health’s guidance A Code of Conduct for Private Practice, issued in April 2003, which tells trusts not to permit patients to pay for additional drugs.

Dozens of patients have consulted lawyers, who hope to get a test case to court before the end of July. Melissa Worth of the Manchester law firm Halliwells, which is taking cases free of charge, has been consulted by about 20 patients.

So far trusts have backed down and generally agreed to treat patients as exceptional cases after receiving solicitors’ letters, she said. But she and other lawyers are confident that they will get a test . . . [Full text of this article]

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It is high time the monolithic NHS realised the benefits of copayments

stanley shaldon
bmj.com, 6 Jun 2008 [Full text]

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