MULTIPLE Sclerosis sufferers from North Yorkshire are still being denied access to the life-changing drug Beta Interferon - despite Government assurances that all suitable patients would be prescribed it.

One patient, Sharon Metcalfe, 40, from Easingwold, said today that although she fits all the criteria laid down by the Department of Health earlier this year, she must wait because doctors in York are still unable to prescribe the drug.

She fears her health could deteriorate to such an extent while she is waiting that she will no longer be eligible for the prescription.

The York Health Services NHS Trust and the Selby and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) say the infrastructure is not yet in place to assess and monitor patients on Beta Interferon.

An action plan will be drawn up by the end of this month, but it could be months before the first patient in York is prescribed the drug under new guidelines.

Beta Interferon - hailed as the first drug to improve MS symptoms - was licensed in the UK in 1995, but many health authorities said they could not prescribe it because the cost of £10,000 per person per year was not justified by its results.

Earlier this year, the Government decided to make the drug widely available on the NHS from May, despite a ruling by its own health standards body NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) which said the drug was not cost-effective.

Mrs Metcalfe, diagnosed with the disease 11 years ago, is currently fully mobile and is able to work as a childminder from home.

She said: "I don't know if I can wait months - I've got problems now. Knowing that I can and should have this drug, but being told that I can't is awful.

"I shouldn't have to fight for things, especially as the PCT and everybody else has known about this for some time.

"This drug could stop my symptoms getting worse, it could mean that I don't have to take all the other medication I use and it means that I could keep working. I have had the best care from my consultant but his hands are tied."

A spokesman for the Selby and York Primary Care Trust and York Health Services NHS Trust said: "Estimates show that the number of North Yorkshire PCT residents on Beta Interferon will at least double. This will have a significant impact on the provision of health services in our area.

"Discussions have therefore been held with both organisations to consider the local implementation of the guidance."

Richard Hails, joint chairman of the York branch of the MS Society, said he believed there were a number of people in the area who would qualify for the drug, but who had not yet gone on to it.

Updated: 11:16 Monday, July 01, 2002