Mum petitions for Epipen funding
Discovering that her son needs a costly Epipen for severe allergies has prompted an Auckland mum to campaign for the injector to be free.
Eight-year-old James Johnston went into anaphylactic shock on May 14 after being stung by a wasp, mother Victoria Johnston said.
The wasp got caught in James’ hair at their Kaukapakapa property.
He cried out in pain and went red, breaking out in hives quickly, she said.
‘‘Next thing I could see his eyes puffing up, his ears were puffing up, everything was swelling.’’
Johnston said upon learning that her son would need to carry an Epipen in case of allergic reactions, she was ‘‘gobsmacked’’ to discover they weren’t funded. ‘‘They’re not even partlyfunded, nothing.’’
Johnston said doctors basically told her to look around for the best deal.
The cheapest she had found after scouring the internet was $110.
Johnston said other countries funded the adrenaline injector and it was a ‘‘simple life-saving device’’ for people going into anaphylactic shock.
The Epipen was single-use and needed replacing every year. The family had one Epipen but wanted at least three to be safe, she added.
Because of the cost of the injectors, Johnston decided to petition Parliament to get Epipens fully funded.
‘‘Epipens are incredibly expensive and every sufferer needs at least two,’’ she said. ‘‘I’m so desperately sad for families that can’t even afford one Epipen.’’
Health Minister David Clark said there was a process with petitioning Parliament and it was inappropriate for him to comment during it.
Pharmac director of operations Lisa Williams said the company wasn’t convinced that funding auto-injectors, like the Epipen, was the ‘‘next best spend of our budget’’.
Williams said Pharmac already funded adrenaline ampoules.
‘‘The ampoules cost about $1 each. ‘‘Auto-injectors, like the Epipen, can be more than 100 times more expensive while containing the same active ingredient,’’ Williams said.
‘‘Pharmac works within a fixed budget, which means we have to make difficult choices about the use of our funding to obtain the best health outcomes for all New Zealanders.’’
Johnston said the ampoules were administered with a needle and syringe.
This made them difficult to use unless medically trained – especially in an emergency.
Williams said Pharmac was in contact with potential suppliers of autoinjectors, in the hope of an affordable long-term funding agreement.