IMO Conference: Medical card charge ‘dangers’

Some medical card patients, unable to afford prescription charges, are not taking vital medication and suffering strokes as a result, research will show.

Dr Ray Walley, a GP in north Dublin, said the study by researchers at Trinity College Dublin would suggest some patients were reducing their use of anti- coagulants (blood clotting agents) and ending up with stroke.

Dr Walley, who was addressing the Irish Medical Organisation’s (IMO) annual conference in Kilkenny yesterday, proposed a motion calling on the Minister for Health to reverse the policy of prescription charges in the next budget on the basis it was acting as “an economic disincentive” for patients to continue taking prescribed medication.

The current prescription charge is €2.50 per item, with a monthly cap of €25.

Dr Walley, incoming IMO president, said he was “aware of one woman who is not taking her medication for osteoporosis even though she is on steroids for rheumatoid arthritis”.

DISCOVER MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS

He said the prescription charge “goes against every international study” and was “counterproductive” when introduced by the NHS in the UK.

However, the UK had introduced a derogation “for the oldest, the sickest, the poorest” while “bizzarely, we’ve imposed charges on the oldest, the sickest, the poorest”. Mayo GP Dr Ken Egan said he was in favour of the charge because he had “suddenly found many patients asking ‘do I need that tablet doctor’ and they were actually thinking about what they were on”.

This was not always the case pre-introduction of the charge, he said, revealing one of his patients had stocked up on 38 boxes of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor “in case I needed them”.

Another patient had “€5,000 worth of inhalers and steroids in the house”, Dr Egan said, adding “there is abuse, and something needs to be done about that”. The motion was carried.

A motion calling for the health minister to establish alcohol and addictive drug detoxification centres for those wanting to avail of detoxification as part of their recovery heard drug dealing was taking place on psychiatric wards.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Matt Sadlier said he had seen it in services all over the country.

“Drug usage on psychiatric wards happens, it is a significant problem. There are very vulnerable people out there and you have some not very nice people who are prepared to make money out of the exploitation of vulnerable people,” he said.

DISCOVER MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS