I READ in the local press an elderly couple had been forced to make a choice who would go blind because the Dudley Primary Care Trust refused to pay the cost of the drugs.

I wonder if people connected with the NHS work together. I have a copy letter sent to Ian Pearson MP from the Dept Of Health, he states the drug Macugen was licensed in February 2006' also the DOH has made it clear to health authorities and Primary Care Trusts that funding for treatments should not be withheld simply because guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is unavailable.' However the Chief Executive of the Dudley Primary Care Trust has told Ian Pearson MP that the drugs Macugen and Lucentis for age related macular degeneration are currently not available on the NHS in Dudley'.

What is not generally known is that our cousins in Scotland have been receiving this treatment for months free on the NHS. Do MP's, the NHS and Primary Care Trusts really care about people losing their sight??

B Allton Wordsley