The Right Reverend Kenneth Stevenson called for the government and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which assesses new treatments, to decide which drugs can be authorised for use faster.

Dr Stevenson made the comments during a debate in the House of Lords.

Dr Stevenson, who has received treatment for leukaemia, said: 'Does the government agree that a starting point might be to speed up the processes of authorising new drugs, particularly the work of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence?

'We must not forget that this is not about balancing books, it is about anxious patients, of which I have been one.'

Speaking to The News afterwards, Dr Stevenson said: 'I'm not complaining about the treatment I had but I aired some genuine concerns I have.'

Dr Stevenson's comments were strongly supported by Margaret Kew, whose 49-year-old son Steve suffers from multiple sclerosis.

Mrs Kew, 70, of Portchester Road, Fareham, said: 'I definitely agree that NICE should speed things up. There is no cure for MS but there are things that can help. Things should be done much more quickly than they are at the moment.

'I ask about a drug and they say we don't know if we can do it. The people from NICE don't know what it's like to see your son suffer from MS. He can't even scratch his nose or move his hands.

'I just think things should be speeded up and they should do everything they can for the patients.'

A spokeswoman for NICE said: 'Our process for appraising new drugs and treatments is widely acknowledged as being the gold standard against which other organisations and other countries measure themselves.

'We welcome the opportunity to work with the Department of Health on measures for speeding up the process from the selection of topics by the Department of Health, through to publication of final guidance.

The News says