MULTIPLE sclerosis patients across York and North Yorkshire are celebrating after finally being given access to life-changing drugs.

Patients have been battling to get NHS access to Beta Interferon - hailed as the first drug to improve MS symptoms - after many health authorities refused to prescribe it because the cost of £10,000 per patient per year was not justified by the results.

The Government decided to make the drug, and the similar glatiramer acetate, available on the NHS from May last year despite a ruling by its own health standards body NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) that the drugs were not cost-effective.

A unique 'payment by results' agreement between the Government and five pharmaceutical companies means that prices would be reduced if patients did not improve during a ten-year monitoring programme.

However, local patients were faced with a further eight-month delay while the Selby and York Primary Care Trust and York Health Services NHS Trust created the infrastructure to deal with the programme.

Now a handful of patients have received their prescriptions after being assessed at York Hospital - and more are set to follow.

Sharon Metcalfe, 40, of Easingwold, was told this week that she can have her first injection later this month.

The childminder had feared her condition would deteriorate so much that she would no longer be eligible to take the drug, but is now thrilled with the news.

She said: "I'm very lucky because if it had been any longer then I wouldn't have been able to have the drug.

"Some people that would have qualified earlier have now missed out because their MS has progressed.

"This drug does not work overnight, this is going to be long- term and hopefully it will slow down my symptoms."

Andrew Russell, MS specialist nurse at York Hospital, said: "This drug does not work for everybody, but for those who fit the tight criteria it is of real benefit."

Updated: 10:35 Saturday, January 11, 2003