The handbook aims to enable people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to access the medicines they need to treat their condition and impact debilitating symptoms including impaired mobility, severe fatigue and cognitive difficulties. It provides practical advice for people with MS on their medical rights and options as well as how to engage with the health system.
More than 8,000 people are affected by multiple sclerosis in Ireland. MS is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40, the most common neurological condition affecting young adults in Ireland. There is no known cause or cure for MS.
Minister Varadkar, who supports the launch of the ‘Access to Medicines’ Campaign Handbook comments, “In Ireland over 8,000 people are living with MS, the launch of this handbook today will empower those 8,000 people and their families to access the medicines needed. This handbook is a fantastic publication and one that I know will prove extremely useful and beneficial to those who will use it.’’
The ‘Access to Medicines’ Campaign Handbook contains information on gaining access to MS medicines in Ireland and includes case studies following the efforts of people with MS, ranging in age from their 20s to their 60s, to secure access to medicines specific to their case. Case studies include Natalie Brennan (25) from Dublin who was successful in accessing MS medicine Lemtrada after appealing to the HSE and her hospital earlier this year and Rosaleen Rafter (61) from Galway currently campaigning for access to Fampyra, an oral treatment to improve mobility in adults with MS, through one of the HSE’s payment schemes.
Ava Battles, Chief Executive, MS Ireland comments, “MS Ireland strongly believes that people with MS should have access to proven and licensed treatments for their condition. This may seem like a very basic demand, and one that it would be hard to refuse, but the truth is that this is not the situation for many people in Ireland today. We see the ‘Access to Medicines’ Campaign Handbook as a bid to empower individuals to secure access to these medicines.”
If you would like any further information on the Campaign Handbook please call the MS Information Line on 1850 233 233 (Monday-Friday 10am-2pm)or email info@ms-society.ie
*Photographed at the launch of the 'Access to Medicines' Campaign Handbook for people with multiple sclerosis, are Ava Battles, Chief Executive, MS Ireland; Minister for Health Leo Varadkar; and people living with MS, Rosaleen Rafter, Aoife Kirwan and Willeke Van Eeckhoutte.