McCarthy calls for new Arthritis drugs to be introduced to Northern Ireland

Alliance Health spokesperson Kieran McCarthy MLA has called for an Arthritis drug that has just been put on the English and Welsh Health Service to also be put on the Health Service here. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has just put this drug on the health service in England and Wales; a drug that is already available in Scotland. This drug is meant to help those arthritis patients who have not responded to other treatments.

The Strangford MLA said: “This drug must be put on our health service as soon as possible, especially seeing as we are now the only part of the United Kingdom where it is not available.

“Rheumatoid arthritis is crippling disease and I would like to see the best drugs and treatments available in our country for patients with arthritis.

“So if a drug which is meant to be very effective in reducing the effects of arthritis is not available here then I must ask those in charge of deciding which drugs are available on prescription to act quickly and rectify this problem.

“We should not be lagging behind other regions in the United Kingdom and I would challenge our health service to be the first to introduce effective treatments in the future instead of the last.”

ENDS