HOSPITAL bosses have made a dramatic u-turn after a cancer-battling former Dudley councillor spoke out about being denied a potentially life-extending drug.

Retired football referee Geoff Southall, former vice-chairman of Dudley Council’s planning committee, said he felt “very hurt that people are prepared to write you off” after he was told his application to be treated with new radioisotope drug Radium 223 had been refused – despite his consultant at Wolverhampton’s New Cross Hospital declaring him medically fit and a suitable candidate for the treatment.

Speaking to the News last week - the 78-year-old Wordsley grandfather, a former chairman of Dudley South Conservatives, said the decision had left him feeling let down in his hour of need.

And he questioned whether it had been influenced by his date of birth and the cost of the expensive drugs, which are believed to be able to extend life by about four months.

He described his experience as “inhumane” and he branded those responsible for the decision as “faceless bureaucrats, making life and death decisions,” who know "the price of everything and the value of nothing”.

Mr Southall, a former FA referee assessor who assessed some of today’s Premier League refs, said he had paid into the system for nearly 65 years "only to be deprived of necessary help at the most vulnerable time of my life".

But after being contacted by the News about Mr Southall’s plight, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust issued a statement saying hospital bosses were “fighting to get this treatment delivered” and that approval to offer the new drug to the community stalwart - who used to help organise Wordsley Carnival - was awaited from specialist commissioners.

Then on Tuesday of this week as the News was preparing to go to press - Gwen Nuttall, chief operating officer for Trust, confirmed Mr Southall’s application for Radium 223 treatment had been given the go-ahead and she said treatment would begin on November 3.

Mr Southall said he was delighted at the u-turn and added: “I accept it’s subject to satisfactory blood tests and if my consultant decides there are medical reasons why I can’t have the treatment that’s another matter entirely.

"But I’m very, very grateful to the media, the News in particular. I truly believe this would not have happened without the publicity that’s been generated. It shows newspapers still have a part to play in the life of society. The pen is mightier than the sword.”