About 30 women are to start getting the breast cancer drug Herceptin within the next few days.

Oxford City primary care trust said it was working to get the drug to the women who need it as fast as it could - with a £700,000 annual programme due to start from the middle of this month.

But one Oxford GP accused the trust of delaying the drug for financial reasons as she called for it to be made available immediately.

Campaigners fought a high-profile battle to make the drug more widely available on the NHS, spearheaded by the case of Ann Marie Rogers, from Swindon, who went to the Court of Appeal.

In June, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) issued draft guidelines that women with early stage breast cancer should be able to get the drug. Final guidance followed last month.

Oxford city primary care trust spokewosman Melanie Proudfoot said: "In response to the Nice final guidance in August, Oxfordshire PCTs have been reviewing their current policy on the use of Herceptin and have been working with the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals (ORH) and the Thames Valley Cancer Network to meet the three-month timescale for implementation."

It is estimated that in Oxfordshire approximately 64 new early-stage breast cancer patients, will be suitable for treatment with Herceptin each year.

The ORH is currently identifying the numbers of patients who are currently waiting for treatment - this is estimated at around 32.

But the GP, who does not want to be named, claimed that guidelines issued last month meant the city's trust could start providing the drug for patients immediately but opted instead to wait for as long as possible until it is made available, in order to reduce costs.

The doctor, who has worked in Oxford for 30 years, asked to remain anonymous. She said GPs across the city had written to PCT managers to urge them to provide the drug without delay.

The woman GP said: "At least 14 women in Oxford city are waiting to be given this drug, which is now being made available by a large number of PCTs across the country. The reason why the PCT is delaying is down to finance, and it isn't fair on the women involved.

"The Nice guidelines, which came out in August, said the PCTs should be issuing it, but they are waiting until the last minute.

"Herceptin is only suitable for about 20 per cent of women suffering breast cancer, and all sufferers are tested to see if they would respond positively to it.

"The drug helps mainly young women who have received chemotherapy, and reduces the recurrence rate by 30 to 50 per cent. Prevention is obviously better than waiting for a recurrence of the disease."