TWO sufferers from multiple sclerosis had a "glimmer of hope" snatched away because health bosses would not pay for costly new drugs.

For years the two men - Ian Cheetham and Stephen Brooks - have been confined to wheelchairs with the progressive disease MS.

They were given the chance to try out a relatively new drug, beta-interferon, which some say slows down the illness. The cost to the NHS would have been £10,000 a year for each patient.

Both had even been for "training" in how to inject the drug themselves, and passed the required blood tests.

But a fortnight later, they received a letter saying that the local NHS did not have the money to pay for their treatment.

Local MP David Chaytor has now raised their plight in the House of Commons, where MPs called for an end to the lottery of "post-code" treatment in the NHS, where patients' treatment depends on where they live.

Mr Chaytor said: "I am extremely concerned about the way in which my constituents have been led to believe that beta-interferon would be available and only after having gone through training were they told they would have to go on the waiting list."

He called for Bury Health Care NHS Trust, which runs Bury and Fairfield hospitals, to review its procedures.

Mr Philip Bacon, chief executive of the Trust, declined to comment on these cases, which happened early last year. However, the Bury Times understands that Mr Bacon has written to Mr Chaytor apologising for the fact that patients' expectations were raised.

No patient has been trained in the drug since last April when the funding situation became clear. Meanwhile, Mr Richard Popplewell, chief executive of Bury and Rochdale Health Authority which funds the hospitals, said: "The authority allocates £300,000 per year for beta-interferon to benefit MS sufferers.

"This is a higher than average level compared to some other health authorities around the country. This approach is in advance of nationally agreed guidelines for provision, which when they are released the authority will fully adhere.

"Regarding these patients, the authority will be taking up the matter with Bury Trust."

Mr Ian Cheetham holds one of the most senior jobs with Bury Council as director of development and environmental services. He was diagnosed with the illness seven years ago and since then has gone from using walking sticks to crutches and is now in a wheelchair.

"With a complaint like MS, you like to feel that you are being given every support and chance there is," he said.

"I was very pleased when I was sent for the training course by the consultant neurologist. It was a fortnight, that close, before the treatment was due to start that I had a letter from the Trust explaining that they could not commit themselves to prescribing the drug."

Mr Cheetham says his existing medication merely alleviates the symptoms of MS, not the disease itself.

"The efficacy of beta-interferon may be deemed marginal by some, but it was a glimmer of hope for a progressive complaint that made you feel hopeful," he said. "I'm very disappointed not be given that chance."

Mr Stephen Brooks (44) of Sixth Avenue, Fairfield was diagnosed with MS eight years ago, and is now in a wheelchair.

"I was told I was on the shortlist, then went to Bury General and was given an all-day training in how to administer the drug," he said. "I had the blood tests, which were OK, and that was it. Then I got a letter saying that the heath authority would not and could not fund it. To say I was gutted is an understatement."

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