BRASSIL SLAMS HSE DECISION ON LIFE-CHANGING CF DRUG

Kerry Fianna Fáil TD John Brassil has said hie is hugely disappointed by HSE’s decision not to fund Orkambi for CF patients and called on the Government to reverse the policy.

Deputy Brassil – Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on Primary Care and a pharmacist by trade – said that the decision by the HSE to reject the use of Orkambi due to cost implications is both extremely disheartening to people living with Cystic Fibrosis and short sighted from a health point of view.

“Over the last year, CF sufferers have been waiting on this decision, and the news over the weekend will prove to be extremely painful for those who hoped to begin using Orkambi if approved,” he said.

“The facts are quite clear. Orkambi works. The clinical trials have shown that it can increase a person’s lifespan and also improve their quality of life,” said Deputy Brassil.

“In October, my party leader, Micheál Martin raised this issue in the Dáil. At the time, he provided a solution,” he said.

Deputy Brassil said that rather than simply rejecting the drug as too expensive the HSE should look for cheaper ways to source it.

“The HSE should look to immediately begin negotiations with health services in other countries in the EU, and elsewhere, to potentially club together and bulk-buy Orkambi at a lower price,” Brassil said.

“Longer term, the HSE must also ring fence funding for medicines of this nature. It is wrong, and unconscionable, to say to a person that we cannot justify the cost of keeping you alive longer or giving you a better quality of life,” said the Kerry Deputy.

“This issue won’t go away, and nor should it. It’s too important to too many people, and I, and my party, will continue to pressure the Government to deliver this important, life changing drug,” concluded Brassil.