Sufferers subjected to ‘postcode lottery’ despite HSE approval of remedial treatment
August 24, 2015
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are being denied access to life-changing treatments simply because of where they live, according to the MS Society.
The charity says it is aware of many instances of a “postcode lottery effect” where hospitals have refused or restricted access to treatments to contain costs. This is in spite of the fact the treatments have been approved by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the patients should be eligible for them.
“There is huge frustration among people with MS about access to treatments which could greatly improve their quality of life as well as improving their productivity in society,” said MS Society chief executive Ava Battles.
The society has produced a handbook for its 8,000 members, which offers a “nine-step plan on how to ‘get loud’” when campaigning for their rights. Where patients are refused access to drugs recommended by their neurologist, they are advised to make a complaint to hospital management in the first instance, and then to the HSE or Department of Health.
According to the booklet, patients should get the right treatment at the right time but this is not the situation for many people inIreland today. “The fact is that at present not everyone with MS does get equal access to treatments across the country. There have been cases where people have been denied access to clinically indicated treatments altogether.”
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