Paul Murphy calls for national allergy strategy and access to OIT
Paul Murphy raised the poor state of allergy care and urged a multi-year national allergy strategy and the provision of oral immunotherapy in this country. He said many parents are forced to travel abroad and pay large sums for treatments like Palforzia or oral immunotherapy.
Paul Murphy told the Taoiseach that allergy care in the health system is inadequate, with many families paying privately for treatment abroad. He said oral immunotherapy options are not available within the system and are not covered by the treatment abroad scheme.
He cited a woman who travelled to America for six weeks, paying 8,000 euros for treatment while losing income and paying for accommodation. He said this example is not unusual and that many families travel to Britain or America for care.
Paul Murphy explained oral immunotherapy can take the form of a tablet such as Palforzia, which contains a tiny amount of peanut, or a controlled regimen in which mostly children consume tiny amounts of the allergen to build resistance over time.
He asked whether the Taoiseach agreed on the need for a multi-year national allergy strategy and on offering oral immunotherapy within the country to prevent families having to seek treatment abroad.
The Taoiseach acknowledged multidisciplinary teams are now involved in allergy care and said he would defer to medical and professional advice on provision of oral immunotherapy. He described the area as complex, expressed caution about building up immunology, and advised people to consult their GP and consultant on therapies.
Issue raised
Paul Murphy told the Taoiseach that allergy care in the health system is inadequate, with many families paying privately for treatment abroad. He said oral immunotherapy options are not available within the system and are not covered by the treatment abroad scheme.
Constituent example
He cited a woman who travelled to America for six weeks, paying 8,000 euros for treatment while losing income and paying for accommodation. He said this example is not unusual and that many families travel to Britain or America for care.
Treatments described
Paul Murphy explained oral immunotherapy can take the form of a tablet such as Palforzia, which contains a tiny amount of peanut, or a controlled regimen in which mostly children consume tiny amounts of the allergen to build resistance over time.
Request to the Taoiseach
He asked whether the Taoiseach agreed on the need for a multi-year national allergy strategy and on offering oral immunotherapy within the country to prevent families having to seek treatment abroad.
Taoiseach's response
The Taoiseach acknowledged multidisciplinary teams are now involved in allergy care and said he would defer to medical and professional advice on provision of oral immunotherapy. He described the area as complex, expressed caution about building up immunology, and advised people to consult their GP and consultant on therapies.
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Transcript
Thanks, Kheerlach. Taoiseach, I want to raise with you the very poor state of health care for those suffering with allergies in this country. Very many parents are forced to spend huge amounts of money to go abroad to get their children the treatment that they need. I spoke to a woman a few months ago who had to go to America for six weeks, had to pay for the treatment of 8,000 euros, but obviously be out of work for six weeks, pay for accommodation. That's not unusual. A lot of families go abroad, go to Britain or go to America to get, in particular, oral immunotherapy. This can either take the form of a tablet like Palforzia, which contains a tiny, tiny amount of peanuts for those suffering from peanut allergies, or oral immunotherapy whereby people are simply consuming, mostly children, tiny, tiny amounts of the product that they're allergic to in very controlled environments, and they build up resistance over time to have a less severe allergic reaction. The problem is that these are not available within the Irish health system, and they're not even covered by the treatment abroad scheme. Does the Taoiseach agree that we need a multi-year national allergy strategy, and that we need to offer oral immunotherapy in this country? Thank you, Deputy. I think Dean Murphy raised the issue of allergies. We do have multidisciplinary teams now involved in allergy. I would defer to medical and professional advice on this within our own system, in terms of the provision of oral immunology therapy. It's a complex area. It's a complex area. It takes a lot of building up of immunology. A lot of children have spent a lot of time with consultants, and so I just would be slightly worried. I mean, I don't, I'm not an expert on this, but I would defer to proper professional advice as to when such medicines could be accessed or used. And I would say to everybody out there, consult your GP, and consult your consultant in respect of utilization of any therapies in that regard.