Dementia patients ‘left out’ of free medicine update

Dementia sufferers are being deprived of their right to free medicine, which could help delay symptoms of their condition, according to Malta Dementia Society general secretary Charles Scerri.

He is disappointed because the government has not yet included dementia among the conditions that benefit from free medicines. This means that the majority of those who suffer from this condition will still not be able to afford the pills that can drastically improve their quality of life.

Health Minister Joseph Cassar recently announced that the number of conditions for which patients were entitled to free medicine would be doubled in an overhaul of the system. He said free medicine for psychiatric patients would be extended to include dementia.

However, Dr Scerri elaborated, this did not mean that dementia would be listed as a condition deserving free medication. The free medication would apply to certain psychiatric conditions that a dementia patient might suffer from.

When asked whether dementia itself would be included in schedule V, that lists conditions eligible for free medicines, a ministry spokesman said: “Dementia is not on the current list of schedule V conditions and is not included in the new conditions”.

The spokesman said the Health Ministry was working on a dementia strategy that hoped to improve early diagnosis and support to cover the eight-year span between 2012 and 2020. “Once the dementia strategy is approved, further phases in the schedule V reform will be undertaken,” the spokesman said.

But Dr Scerri feels time should not be wasted, insisting dementia patients deserve free medicines. “They are discriminating against dementia patients on a level of illness. Theirs is a chronic illness but, unlike other such disorders, they are not being helped with medicines costing about €180 a month,” he said.

“It’s high time that we do justice with these people,” Dr Scerri said, adding that access to free medicine was their right.

It is estimated that about 4,500 people in Malta – mostly elderly – suffer from dementia. However, only about 500 can afford the treatment, often with the help of the Malta Community Chest Fund, according to a study published in January by Alzheimer Europe, an EU-wide NGO aiming to raise awareness on all forms of dementia.

The majority of dementia patients cannot afford to take any drugs and most deteriorate to such an extent that they have to be institutionalised. Last year, the government opened a dementia ward at St Vincent De Paul Residence for the elderly in Luqa.

The study noted that Malta and Latvia were not offering some form of help to patients to acquire costly medicines. Given this scenario, the Malta Dementia Society has long been pushing for free medication.

A total of €24.4 million in free medicines were distributed to patients from Mater Dei Hospital’s pharmacy last year, 10 per cent up on the previous year. This rise was mostly due to a revision of the free medicines’ formulary, which saw the addition of 11 “very expensive” drugs to treat cancer patients.

The EU urged Malta last year to review its schedule of free medicines to ensure it was equivalent to those supplied freely in other member states.

Malta and Latvia remain the only two European countries where dementia and Alzheimer’s sufferers are not reimbursed for the treatment that can delay the disease’s onset.

Dementia is a term used to describe a group of brain diseases that result in the progressive impairment of brain function. Symptoms include loss of memory and confusion. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that destroys brain cells, causing behavioural problems and memory loss. It accounts for 50 to 60 per cent of dementia cases.