Patient suffering needs to be avoided in the current conflict between two NHS organisations on care funding, the NHS Confederation has warned.
David Stout, in reference to the dispute between NICE and the NHS over treatment availability, said: "NHS organisations should be providing patients with the treatments they are legally entitled to under NICE's technology appraisals.
"The last thing we want to see happen is a patient suffering unnecessarily as a result of what appears to be a dispute between NHS organisations about who should be paying for such care."
He added NHS commissioners and providers needed to resolve such issues quickly otherwise patients may not get the care they need.
But Stout said the the NHS' financial pressures must be remembered and that each treatment funded by NICE meant fewer resources for others.
He added: "We need to be open and honest with the public about what the consequences of this financial challenge are, and the fact that trade-offs will be required if we are to improve standards of care while keeping the NHS affordable."
