A campaigner who has helped more than 80 patients win their fight for costly cancer drugs says health chiefs in Hounslow should be 'ashamed' of their record on the issue.

Kate Spall, who took up the cause after her mother died in August last year, also called for a review of the way NHS Hounslow handles applications for the socalled 'wonder' treatments.

She said the fact NHS Hounslow has refused all 15 requests it has received for five new cancer drugs during the last 18 months, while many other trusts have approved the majority of appeals, must be more than a coincidence.

"NHS Hounslow is a disgrace," she said. "There seems to be a blanket ban on new cancer drugs, which would be illegal, and the trust should be ashamed."

She added that it was 'ridiculous' for bosses at NHS Hounslow to claim their decisions are not influenced by the trust's historic debt of £22million.

Mrs Spall has won more than 80 per cent of the cases she's taken on and believes patients would have a much higher success rate if they were given more support during the appeals process.

During her short time fighting for wider access to drugs, she has uncovered appalling levels of incompetence at some trusts.

In one case, so-called experts were making decisions based on the wrong data, while another trust paid a PR firm more to explain why it had rejected applications than the drugs would have cost in the first place.

For more about the Pamela Northcott Fund, named after Mrs Spall's mother, email: kate@pamelanorthcottfund.org.uk

KATE ON THE APPEALS PROCESS

You've got a terminal illness, your family's in crisis and you've got to take on the biggest bureaucracy in the country.

Why don't trusts have advocates to help people through the very legalistic procedure?

The NHS wants you to believe these drugs will only extend your life by a few months, but research suggests patients treated with Sutent survive an average of 15 months longer than those who don't receive the drug.

We only ever ask for a three-month trial, costing about £6,000, and every patient I've successfully represented has had the drugs refunded after that period.

NICE is a clever political tool to help the Government save money.

Only one per cent of the NHS budget is spent on cancer drugs, compared with two thirds on administration.

That can't be right when a third of people are going to be affected by cancer during their lifetimes.

How cost-effective is it to have these 'exceptional circumstances panels' frequently meeting for hours at a time when that money could have been used to fund the drugs in the first place?

One man living in Wales couldn't get Sutent so he moved in with his daughter half an hour down the road and started treatment within a fortnight. We could see that happening more and more often.

There's a real north-south divide when it comes to accessing cancer drugs, with patients in the north much more likely to receive treatment.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR APPLICATION HAS BEEN TURNED DOWN

* Request the PCT's policy for appeals and exceptional circumstances

* Ask for the minutes of every meeting relating to your case, along with all internal documents, emails and transcribed phone calls so you can cross-reference them with the policy to check it's been followed

* Demand a detailed explanation of why your application has been refused

* Always write directly to the chief e x ecuti v e and send a copy to the London Strategic Health Authority