---

Lucentis

I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to raise this issue in the House tonight, and I look forward to the Minister's reply. The issue is about the refusal of primary care trusts up and down the country—but in particular my own PCT, West Kent—to fund the provision of Lucentis and Avastin for those who are losing their sight. The national health service exists especially to make sure that nobody loses the ability to function in the most normal way if that is possible. To see, to hear, to have some degree of movement—those are all essential to function normally. They are neither luxuries nor lifestyle changes, but are utterly basic and essential. I cannot believe that the founding fathers of the NHS ever foresaw the day when that same NHS, which seems to find money for a whole lot of things that some would consider desirable but not essential, could not find money for that which is essential. I am going to concentrate on two constituents' cases, about which the Minister has been notified. Neither constituent wishes to be named; I shall therefore refer to them as Mr. X and Miss Y.