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Bishop slams inaction on medication shortages for palliative care patients

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Bishop Timothy Harris celebrating Mass for the legal and judicial community for an annual faith service. Photo: Bishop Timothy Harris Facebook page.

Townsville Bishop Timothy Harris has called the removal of vital pain-relieving medications from the Australian market over the past year a “disgrace” and questioned the seriousness of governments in providing real options for end-of-life care. 

At least six medications commonly used by palliative care doctors and nurses were removed, including oral liquid morphine which is used to manage severe pain and laboured breathing in oncology, palliative care and motor neurone patients, The Medical Republic reported this month. 

Dr Michelle Gold, president of the Australia New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine said palliative patients in rural and regional areas are the worst affected by the shortages. 

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She is calling for a longer notification period for the withdrawal of drugs essential to palliative care and for the timely listing of substitutes on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. 

Bishop Harris, the Australian Catholic Bishops’ delegate for life issues, has written to Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler urging him to resolve the matter. 

“People at their most vulnerable moment are feeling that they’ve been abandoned, and rightly so,” Bishop Harris told The Catholic Weekly. 

“These drugs are there to alleviate pain towards the end of life and to improve quality of life, and for this to be allowed to happen is a disgrace. 

“These developments give me no confidence whatsoever that governments are serious about providing all Australians with access to effective palliative care, including the medications to help make that possible.” 

Medication shortage palliative care - The Catholic weekly
Bishop Timothy Harris. Photo: Bishop Timothy Harris Facebook page.

The bishop said that with palliative care resourcing in rural and regional community already “dire,” more people may go down a path to doctor-assisted suicide than would otherwise be the case if they had a better range of options. 

“Every Australian deserves a high-quality palliative care regime and it is an indictment, in my view, on society that these drugs are not freely available, particularly in regional and rural areas where the underfunding and palliative care is a disgrace.” 

Dr Gold said that while some overseas-registered substitutes have been made available by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the costs were prohibitive and supplies of oral morphine low in “many, many parts of the country.” 

“GPs are having to find out what local pharmacies have available, that’s time consuming,” she told The Medical Republic. 

“If there isn’t any reasonably locally-available morphine mixture, then they are having to convert to another form of medication for a lot of their patients and there’s always a risk that the second drug doesn’t suit them.” 

The extra doctor visits and effort on the part of patients is magnified in the regions and rural areas where there are fewer pharmacies “so there’s an inequality there as well,” she said. 

Bishop Harris is convinced that if palliative care was appropriately funded there would be no need for euthanasia and voluntary assisted dying laws. 

“The real test for a society that is humane and compassionate is that it provides people at these most vulnerable times with all the assistance they can get. 

“I’m appalled that governments are not putting their efforts into this.” 

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