‘Patients to benefit from innovative new drugs’ – O’Neill | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

‘Patients to benefit from innovative new drugs’ – O’Neill

Health Minister Michelle O’Neill has announced that eligible patients in Northern Ireland will receive innovative new drugs for the treatment of very rare conditions.

Michelle_O_NeillThe drugs, evaluated under the Highly Specialised Technology Programme of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), will be made available to patients with very rare conditions including atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome, mucopolysaccharidosis type IVa and Duchenne muscular dystrophy caused by a nonsense mutation.

Confirming her decision, the Minister said, “I am delighted to announce the availability of these drugs to allow patients with very rare conditions to receive pioneering new treatments. Whilst there are only a handful of people affected by these conditions, the new drugs have the potential to make a real impact on their quality of life.

“For the very first time, there are drugs available that could keep children with one form of muscular dystrophy out of a wheelchair for up to seven years; that could avoid end stage renal failure for people with atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome; or could relieve some of the symptoms of mucopolysaccharidosis type IVa.”

Drugs considered under NICE’s programme of Highly Specialised Technologies tend to be much more expensive that other medications. NICE is in the process of evaluating a range of technologies for the treatment of other very rare conditions including Fabry disease, Gaucher disease (type 1), paediatric-onset Hypophosphatasia and Lysosomal acid lipase deficiency.

Michelle O’Neill added, “These drugs are very expensive and whilst it is right that patients in the north of Ireland should have them, we must make sure that going forward our health and social care system works in the most efficient and effective ways possible to ensure that all patients and clients have access to evidence based services and medicines that will improve outcomes for them.

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July 2016“That means difficult conversations and decisions ahead. It means supporting patients to make the right choices in looking after their own health and wellbeing. It means that clinicians and other professionals must be certain that a drug, treatment or a service is the best and most effective option for their patient or client on the basis of all the information and evidence available to them.

“It means that manufacturers of drugs and other medical technologies must work with the system to ensure that prices are as accessible as possible to ensure better outcomes for more patients.

“And it means that those who will redesign our system give proper thought and attention to the best configuration of services to make sure patients and service users in the north of Ireland have a world-class health and social care system that works for them.”

The Minister added, “My Department is working with the HSC on a range of initiatives to bring more efficient and effective processes right across the system in prescribing, workforce planning and service delivery.”

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Posted by on Jul 21 2016. Filed under Community, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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