New potentially life-saving and pioneering medical treatments such as bone marrow transplant and stem cell therapy should be made available on the National Health Service, according to a new UK-wide survey.
It was found that 90% of the respondents believed such pioneering medical treatments, which can only be accessed privately in the UK or overseas, should be available for free.
The general consensus among those in the survey is that having these treatments at hand would be popular, with 64% of respondents saying that they would consider trying these new pioneering medical treatments if they were diagnosed with a life-threatening condition.
A further 26% were unsure about the new treatment, whilst only 10% said they would not consider having any of the treatment.
In April, proton beam therapy was used for the first time in the UK to treat prostate cancer in South Wales. Six proton beam centres will be opened in the UK over the next three years, two of which will be within the NHS.
How many people have private medical insurance?
The survey also revealed that 40% of respondents would be prepared to pay for the treatment privately; however, only 10% currently have private medical insurance.
London boasted the highest number of people who had private medical insurance at double the national average of 21%, while the northeast of England saw the fewest with only 6%.
On the topic of funding of the NHS, 84% of those surveyed by Censuswide said that they did not believe the NHS was sufficiently funded.
The ongoing financial challenges in healthcare
The survey was conducted on behalf of SecurityTrust, a new private medical insurance provider which provides access to pioneering medical treatments either privately in the UK or overseas via its medical insurance plan ‘MediVISA’.
SecurityTrust’s CEO, David Abingdon, said: “Our survey has revealed a high degree of understanding and demand for new and potentially life-saving medical treatments not yet available from the National Health Service. We offer this access at low cost for a variety of serious conditions, such as cancer, heart diseases and neurological conditions.
“Funding levels for the NHS and the role of private medical providers will always be debated. The ongoing financial challenges the health service faces are well known. I firmly believe we are a crucial part of the solution, especially when it comes to providing access to new treatments which either aren’t yet widely available or are prohibitively expensive for the public purse.”
