NICEwatch is Cancerbackup's flagship campaign to speed up access to cancer treatments. We are delighted that NICEwatch was shortlisted for the Public Affairs News Awards in 2006. The NICEwatch campaign has been a huge success and means that cancer patients will have access to treatments they might not otherwise have had.

In May 2005, Cancerbackup launched a ‘Dossier of Delay’ which revealed that cancer patients are waiting for potentially life-saving cancer treatments. The Dossier revealed how long it will take for 10 new cancer treatments to be appraised by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and made widely available to patients. For many patients, the delays mean the treatment will not be available in time to help them.

Cancerbackup's NICEwatch campaign built on this Dossier and suggested the solutions to the problems within the system which create these delays and prevent patients accessing treatments which may save, or extend their lives. Our proposals for reform of the system can be downloaded below, along with the Dossier of Delay and NICEwatch lists of delayed treatments.

The current process which allows cancer treatments to be available for NHS patients begins with the issuing of a licence based on the safety, tolerability and clinical efficacy of a new drug or a new indication from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and/or the European Medicines Agency. In England, once licensed some drugs are suggested to the Department of Health for appraisal for use in the NHS. The Department considers and selects drugs, groups them into waves and commissions the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to produce guidance for usage within the NHS. NICE then produces its workplan and assesses the drugs over a minimum period of 14 months.

As a result of the NICEwatch campaign, a new fast-track system for appraising treatments has been introduced, which means that new treatments will be available to cancer patients faster. The Single Technology Appraisal process, which is already in use, is currently being consulted on.

More information about Cancerbackup's involvement in the NICE process can be found in our Policy & Parliament pages. Please contact us for further information.

Press release

Read our NICEwatch press release.

In parliament…

93 Members of Parliament have signed an Early Day Motion (EDM) in support of the NICEwatch campaign.