Irish hospital consultants vote to boycott products made by Israeli pharma company

'As a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, I have treated families from Gaza whose injuries are devastating and will require life long management.' File picture: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images

A consultants’ representative body has passed a motion encouraging a boycott of products made by the Israeli company Teva Pharmaceuticals.

The motion encouraged members of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) to avoid prescribing, administering or using Teva Pharmaceuticals’ products “where clinically appropriate and equivalent alternatives are available” and as long as it does not compromise patient safety, continuity of treatment, or clinical outcomes.

It said it would support and defend clinicians who choose not to use the products on ethical grounds, and members should not face disadvantage, intimidation or disciplinary action for taking such a position “in good faith”.

The association also resolved to advocate for the incorporation of “ethical considerations into pharmaceutical procurement policies across Irish hospitals and healthcare institutions”.

The motion said the position was being taken as Teva Pharmaceuticals faces “significant ethical concern and international scrutiny in the context of the ongoing conflict” in Gaza.

“These concerns have led healthcare professionals in Ireland and internationally to question the continued use and procurement of Teva products where clinically appropriate alternatives are available,” it said.

The motion, proposed by Thomas Donnelly, a consultant at Children's Health Ireland at Temple Street, was passed.

“As a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, I have treated families from Gaza whose injuries are devastating and will require life long management,” Mr Donnelly said.

“Several of these patients have lost family members in the same explosions that have resulted in amputations or other irreparable damage.

“To then contemplate that products I prescribe or administer could, even indirectly, contribute to further bombardments is unconscionable.

"Where a clinically appropriate alternative exists, I cannot in good conscience use Teva Pharmaceuticals products, which is why I proposed the motion and I welcome the IHCA's commitment to defend clinicians who take that position in good faith.”

The motion comes weeks after the UK’s Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Pharmacy cut ties with Teva UK, the British arm of Teva Pharmaceuticals.

A spokesperson for the Royal College of Pharmacy said this was due to certain activities found during a due diligence review which did “not align with our values”.

Pro-Palestine protest groups in Ireland had previously called on pharmacies, GPs and healthcare providers not to use Teva medications if alternatives were available.

Teva Ireland states on its website it is one of the largest suppliers of prescription medicines to the HSE and is a “key” partner for Irish pharmacies.

The company said the supply of generic medicines in Ireland has saved an estimated €1.6bn between 2013-2018, and it has played “an integral part in helping to drive these changes”.

Teva UK has been contacted for comment.