Good news about sight saving drug?

According to BBC NEWS today:

All patients in England suffering from a disease which causes blindness are to get access to a sight-saving drug.

Lucentis treats wet age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of sight loss in the country. The drug is already available in Scotland, while Wales and Northern Ireland have said they will fund it.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) had originally said patients should wait until they went blind in one eye. The suggestion, made last summer, caused an outcry from campaigners and doctors, prompting a U-turn by the NHS advisory body in December.

The announcement confirms that draft recommendation and comes after a unique agreement between NICE and the drug's manufacturer, Novartis. Under the deal the NHS will only fund 14 injections, with the cost of any more being met by manufacturer Novartis in a scheme dubbed "dose capping".

Trusts now have three months to comply with the decision. But the process which has led to the recommendation has caused much controversy. With clinical trials showing impressive results, some primary care trusts (PCTs), which decide on funding on a local level in the NHS, have been paying for the treatment ahead of final NICE approval. This has prompted accusations of a postcode lottery in the NHS and led to legal action against PCTs which were not paying for it.
In one recent case, three Warwickshire pensioners ended up in the High Court, winning an out of court settlement last month.

Steve Winyard, head of campaigns at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, said: "We've been waiting for this for over two years. It is a victory for thousands, bringing overwhelming relief to desperate people across the country; "Finally the torment faced by elderly people forced to either spend their life savings on private treatment or go blind, is over."

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) comes in two forms - wet and dry - with the dry form being much more common. However, the wet type is more aggressive and is responsible for about 90% of blindness caused by the condition. Almost 20,000 people a year are diagnosed with wet AMD in England.

NICE chief executive Andrew Dillon described Lucentis as an expensive drug - it costs more than £10,000 for each eye treated. But he added: "That cost needs to be balanced against the likely cost savings. "AMD results in reduced quality of life and increased risks of illness, particularly in relation to accidents, and psychological ill-health." Mr Dillon said the cost-sharing deal could potentially mean significant savings for the NHS. He expressed sympathy for PCTs facing pressure to fund many different expensive drugs from finite budgets. Mr Dillon defended the length of time it took NICE to reach a final decision, but said it was important all parties had the opportunity to have their say. However, he said: "I am genuinely sorry that it has taken us so long to get to this point. Lessons could be learned by everybody involved."

What is Moon language?

The Moon alphabet was invented by Dr. William Moon (1818-1894). Dr Moon lost his sight completely at the age of 21 after being partially sighted throughout his childhood. He learnt all the embossed reading systems available at the time but found them unsatisfactory so invented his own system. To find out more: http://www.moonliteracy.org.uk/

We have just designed and produced some modular "Moon Signs" for the RNIB Rushton School & Children's Home in Coventry. The signs are designed so when the use of the room changes the Sign can be changed with minimal fuss and cost.

I know I need DDA-compliant signs, but what messages do I need and where do they need to be fitted?

Moving around a new building can be difficult enough, we offer a DDA signage audit service to help you decide what information you need to give and where best to locate it. We only produce DDA signage (tactile and Braille) so let our experts help you and it's FREE if you buy the signs from us!

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Bi-lingual Tactile and Braille signs

We can produce bi-lingual (Irish or Welsh for example) tactile and Braille signs, either after a D.D.A. signage audit, like we did for the HQ of Waterford County Council, or from a list of messages you supply to us, find out more: http://www.as-s.co.uk/tactile-signs-irish-welsh.htm