One rule for farm animals ...
A legitimate question has now been raised by Fine Gael Agriculture and Food Spokesperson, Denis Naughten.
He detects double standards, when the Minister for Health introduces a law to allow nurses to issue prescriptions for human medicines, within months of the Minister for Agriculture passing a law forbidding anyone other than veterinary surgeons from issuing prescriptions for animals.
Health Minister Mary Harney said legislation for prescribing by certain nurses and midwives is a “no-brainer“, which should have happened long ago.
She says it will bring greater accessibility and convenience for patients, and would help community services and acute services, while meeting her objective of enabling all members of the health team to work to the full extent of their abilities.
It will effectively harness the talent created by Ireland’s heavy investment in nursing education and training, according to the Minister.
However, no such chances are being taken with farm animals.
Instead, Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan, has given into an EU Directive which could greatly restrict the supply of veterinary medicines.
It will now be up to the EU to allow any exemptions from a prescription only rule which all member states are being forced to adopt, as a measure to combat antibiotic resistance.
The disease-causing microbes that have become resistant to drug therapy are an increasing public health problem, and they may have resulted from treating food-producing animals with antibiotic drugs for therapeutic, disease prevention or production reasons.
That’s why the EU has banned all in-feed antibiotics, and also forced member states to introduce Prescription Only Medicine rules. Irish farmers fear the POM rules could cost them €80 million per year in added costs.
But antibiotic resistance also arises from antibiotics being given to human patients more frequently than the guidelines set by healthcare organisations.
For example, patients sometimes ask their doctors for antibiotics for a cold, cough, or the flu, all of which are viral and don’t respond to antibiotics. Also, patients who are prescribed antibiotics but don’t take the full dose can contribute to resistance.
Nevertheless, the prescription rules in human medicine are being relaxed, not tightened.
It looks like farmers are an easier target for regulation, while the EU and Governments turn their backs on misuse of antibiotics by doctors and their human patients. There’s also the estimated 10% of all available human medicines which are now faked (according to the Food and Drug Administration in the US); and the migration of more and more people from eastern and central Europe, where multidrug resistant diseases have been spreading.
The answer to all these health worries: make sure that only vets can prescribe animal medicines.
