Man left shaken as home is ransacked
and as witnessed in Scotland and now England, access to this once declared ‘unaffordable’ drug is doable.
“The price of good health and improved quality of life cannot be quantified. Now is the time to move beyond talking and to start acting. Now is the time for the North to ask for the same, there is no reason why we can’t achieve the same outcomes.
“We need a restoration of our institutions and we need a Health Minister making these life-changing decisions in defence of the health interests of people here. We need to call it out for what it is, this is the denial of health care to some of our most vulnerable.”
Mr Pengelly said his department is exploring the possibility of making the drug available in Northern Ireland and he would do whatever possible to progress the issue. He said: I very much welcome the announcement that (Orkambi’s maker) Vertex has come to an agreement with NHS England.
“I have asked colleagues in the Department and the Health andSocialCareBoardtonowinitiate urgent discussions on the implications of this decision for Northern Ireland.
“Commissioning these drugs would, of course, have budgetary implications at a time of serious financial pressures for health and social care.
“Notwithstanding the challenge that presents, we will endeavour to take this issue forward expeditiously.”
A MAN has been left badly shaken after barricading himself in a room while his home was ransacked by three masked men. It happened on Stewartstown Road in west Belfast at 3am yesterday. The men, one of whom was armed with a hammer, forced their way into a flat. The occupant locked himself in a room, the door of which was struck and threats shouted. The three men did not gain access and made off.