A decision by York & North Yorkshire health chiefs to stop routinely funding spinal injections that give relief to chronic back pain sufferers has been called "shameful" by Nigel Adams

Over 120 people attended this week’s public meeting at New Earswick Folk Hall, in York, to quiz NHS North Yorkshire and York’s medical director, Dr David Geddes, about the controversial change of policy.

The event was organised by York & District Pain Management Support Group, which hopes to persuade the health trust to reverse its decision to only enable patients with “exceptional circumstances” to have the £540 injection.

Several members of the audience left the meeting in tears having been upset by Dr Geddes responses to patients questions.

Selby and Ainsty's prospective Conservative MP, Nigel Adams, questioned why NHS North Yorkshire and York had not consulted with members of the support group before making the decision.

Nigel Adams said "I don't understand why the PCT has ignored the patients when making this decision, withdrawing these injections is shameful and the decision should be reversed immediately"

He added: “I have had two of these injections and I have no idea how I would have gone on had I not had these injections.”

Dr Geddes said the decision was based on guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), which said evidence showed the injections were not an effective treatment for patients with longer term chronic back pain.

He said: “It is a hard decision and we recognise that a lot of people get a lot of benefit for three, four or five months when they have the injections.”

He said they had to look at services that offered the best possible clinical outcomes, such as physiotherapy, acupuncture, manual therapy, a range of drug treatments and surgery.

Pledging to campaign against the NHS decision to withdraw this pain relief service, Nigel Adams added

"What Dr Geddes didn't seem to grasp was that most patients have already tried the alternative treatments and an injection is the last resort. Nobody enjoys getting them but in most cases, injections are the only relief a patient can get"

"Most sufferers are in a desperate situation and they cannot understand this decision and dr Geddes claim that it has nothing to do with the fact that the PCT has got itself into millions of pounds worth of debt"

Nigel Adams and fellow Conservative candidate, Julian Sturdy, who is standing for York Outer, will be attending the Pain Management Support Group meetingin early March at York Hospital.