Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful that the Minister of State has come to the House to take all these matters this morning. It is great credit to her own work ethic and commitment.

I raise a somewhat niche issue in that it only affects a small number of women in the country but it is serious. Hyperemesis is severe nausea, or morning sickness, during pregnancy. It affects 1% to 2% of pregnancies. In budget 2023, the Minister for Health announced that Cariban, which treats hyperemesis, will be reimbursed. This is welcome and long sought-after. However, to get a prescription for Cariban, the patient must first go to a consultant rather than her GP. This adds delay and cost and creates a great deal of distress to women who are extremely sick during a vulnerable time in their lives. It is hard to describe how badly hyperemesis can affect those who are unfortunate enough to suffer from it during pregnancy but it is debilitating. That they would have to wait for a consultant appointment and be seen before they may be prescribed this prolongs the misery.

A lady in my constituency was diagnosed with hyperemesis at eight weeks. She was losing 2kg a week. This was before it was placed on the drugs payment scheme and she was not eligible to get this so she had to go onto a less effective drug until she was six months' pregnant. She became pregnant again more recently and again fell foul of hyperemesis and, unfortunately, had to wait an additional three weeks to be seen and prescribed by a consultant rather than just being able to get an appointment with her GP the next morning. That was three weeks off work, losing weight and away from the care of the infant child she had simply because there is no joined-up thinking. I am asking for a little bit of common sense in the application of this important scheme for those who need it most.

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