A DOCTOR has accused Derbyshire NHS bosses of burying their heads in the sand over a potential surge in cancer caused by asbestos.
Her warning comes as a second local woman has been denied the drug Alimta, which limits the effect of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma – even though it is available in the Greater Manchester area, just a few miles from her Chinley home.
Whaley Bridge mesothelioma patient Ethel Hallam campaigned for and won the right to be treated with Alimta last year after her primary care trust at first refused her the drug.
But Dr Carol Dunn, a friend of the latest victim of the postcode lottery in NHS drug prescription, is warning that there will be more and more cases of the cancer in this area because of the use of asbestos in industry, and said Derbyshire Primary care Trust was burying its head in the sand over the problem which will only get worse in coming decades.
She said: "People have been exposed to asbestos over the years because of Ferodo – one of the biggest employers in the area.
"From exposure, mesothelioma takes 50 years to develop and it is going to increase over the next ten or 20 years in the UK."
Ethel Hallam's case caused outrage in Whaley Bridge last year where she is a popular and active member of the community.
Now Chinley woman Maureen Barnes is being forced to go through the same ordeal of appealing for the treatment with Alimta, even though doctors treating her condition in Manchester want her to have the drug – and could prescribe it for her if she lived in the city.
Stories by Louise Bellicoso & Johanna Dollersonlouise.bellicoso@buxtonadvertiser.co.ukjohanna.dollerson@buxtonadvertiser.co.uk