Treatment must be made available if given green light by NICE

NHS trusts should no longer be permitted to "blacklist" drugs in order to save money if they have been approved for use by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

A "best practice guide" is being drawn up which will state that medicines should be "automatically incorporated" on lists of available drugs within 90 days of approval, the Daily Telegraph reports.

A number of primary care trusts are believed to have been blacklisting more expensive drugs, sometimes in favour of cheaper "generic" versions which are sometimes not as effective. However, the Department of Health has warned trusts that there should be no barriers to the latest approved drugs "beyond a clinical decision relating to an individual patient".

Dr Gillian Leng, the deputy chief executive of NICE, said this week: "We want all patients to have access to medicines that we consider to be effective."

It is thought that NICE will publish details in the autumn of any sanctions for ignoring the guidance.