The United Kingdom lags behind several other developed countries in its use of drugs for dementia and cancer, but comes out near the top for its use of cardiovascular medicines, says a report.

But no consistent international pattern emerges for all the disease categories assessed, even for those countries at the top of the league table, the findings show.

The report, by Professor Mike Richards, national clinical director for cancer services, was drawn up in response to perceived concerns that UK patients were not getting the same level of access to newer drugs as their peers elsewhere and to the commitment made in the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme to develop measurable comparisons of new medicines uptake in Europe.

The analysis reviewed drug …