More than 20,000 strokes and 5,000 deaths could be averted after
NHS England struck new agreements to expand life-saving
blood-thinning drugs, chief executive Amanda Pritchard announced
today.
The NHS will now dramatically scale up the use of direct oral
anticoagulants (DOACs) with as many as 610,000 more patients set
to benefit over the next three years.
The drugs prevent strokes by treating and preventing blood clots
in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), a condition that
causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.
The new framework agreement means their use will be expanded in
line with the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to tackle strokes and
other cardiovascular disease.
Speaking at NHS Providers conference, NHS Chief Executive Amanda
Pritchard said: “The agreements struck by NHS England will save
thousands of lives and prevent many more people suffering the
debilitating effects of strokes by making this treatment
available to hundreds of thousands more patients.
“The health service now has a proven track record of striking
deals with manufacturers to ensure patients in England get
cutting-edge care at a price which offers best value for
taxpayers.
“As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, tackle the backlogs
of care which have been created and maintain momentum in the NHS
Covid vaccination programme, we are also determined to keep
delivering more innovation and greater efficiency in patients’
care.”
As well as expanding the use of direct oral anticoagulants NHSX
is also using cutting edge technology to diagnose those with
potentially fatal heart conditions, the NHS chief told the NHS
Providers conference.
In a pilot, more than 5,000 people have been given wearable
patches that use AI technology to analyse their heart rate,
diagnosing potentially fatal conditions.
The technology provides clinicians with all the information they
need to make a quick diagnosis and start treatment without the
need for patients to undergo lots of tests and hospital visits.
The agreement on DOACs comes after NICE recommended the drugs as
being more effective for the prevention of AF-related stroke than
other anticoagulants.
NHS England then initiated a national procurement deal on DOACs,
with the aim of making expanding access more affordable and
saving money for both the health service and the taxpayer from
the reduction in strokes.
The previous standard of anticoagulation treatment involved
people needing to regularly attend their GP surgery or hospital
for frequent monitoring. But treatment with a DOAC often only
requires people to attend an annual review of their medicines.
NHS England’s new agreement will make DOACs more affordable,
allowing the local NHS to provide them to 610,000 more patients.
Uptake of DOAC treatment at this level will help to prevent an
estimated 21,700 stokes and save the lives of 5,400 patients from
a fatal outcome over the next three years.
Up to £40 million investment will also be made in ‘Detect,
Protect and Perfect’ pathway initiatives which will also help
identify people with AF and move them onto effective and
appropriate treatment.
NHS England national specialty adviser for cardiovascular disease
prevention said:
“The new agreement for these drugs is good news for the estimated
1.5 million people in England with atrial fibrillation, which is
an irregular heart rhythm that causes one in five strokes.
“Not only is stroke one of the biggest killers in our country,
but it leads to life-changing and often devastating long-term
harm for many others, so by ensuring these drugs are made
available for all people with AF who are at risk of stroke, the
NHS will not only prevent serious harm to the people affected,
but avoid the need for aftercare which puts additional pressure
on the health service.
“Tackling heart disease and stroke is a top priority in the NHS
Long Term Plan, which will save thousands of lives by better
diagnosis and treatment for people with killer conditions.”
There are four different DOACs licensed to treat AF, which have
all been recommended by NICE, while warfarin will still be used
for some patients where appropriate.
A patient’s clinician will determine the most effective and
appropriate treatment for a patient based on their clinical
needs.
This commercial agreement for DOACs, that will go live from 1
January 2022, builds on NHS England’s approach to Hepatitis C
elimination which saw an unique agreement with the pharmaceutical
industry to support wider use of hepatitis C treatments,
targeting patients not already receiving treatment.
