Catherine King

Catherine King

CATHERINE KING MP
Federal Member Ballarat
Shadow Minister Infrastructure, Transport & Regional Development

T (03) 5338 8123
Email: Catherine.King.MP@aph.gov.au

Catherine King MP
Electorate Office
5 Lydiard Street North
Ballarat, VIC 3350

Bacchus Marsh
(every Friday from 10am to 3pm)
Lerderderg Library
Geoffrey Hine Room
215 Main Street
Bacchus Marsh, VIC 3340

Open in Google Maps
  • ABOUT
  • BALLARAT
  • MEDIA
    • LOCAL MEDIA
    • NATIONAL MEDIA
  • POLICY
  • CONTACT US
Thursday, 01 February 2018 / Published in MEDIA, NATIONAL MEDIA

TURNBULL HAS BUNGLED CODEINE UPSCHEDULING

TURNBULL HAS BUNGLED CODEINE UPSCHEDULING

Today’s upscheduling of medicines containing codeine is a significant change for Australians using these medicines to manage chronic pain, but the Government’s failure to communicate properly has left the two million Australians who use these products confused and concerned.

There’s a reason that Australians are so concerned about the decision to make codeine prescription-only – the Turnbull Government has left Australians in the dark and failed to provide timely information about changing products.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration confirmed this decision in December 2016, but the Government didn’t start communicating the change to consumers until more than a year later – leaving Australians who use codeine for pain management only a few months to transition to other options.

In July 2017, Labor wrote to the Government asking for steps to urgently be put in place to manage the transition and make sure Australians weren’t caught out. But the Government didn’t commence any community outreach activity until December.

It is also concerning that the Government has failed to implement a national system to monitor prescription-drugs in time for this change – leaving the possibility that people will doctor-shop and stockpile in reaction to the upscheduling.

Pharmacies were able to monitor the purchase of codeine through the MedsAssist system, but with the change to prescription-only, this national oversight is not in place.

Today’s transition also highlights the Government’s failure to implement a National Pain Strategy that improves access to effective forms of pain relief.

The up-scheduling of codeine to be prescription only today might be the right decision, but the Turnbull Government has completely bungled the transition.

THURSDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2018

What you can read next

SENATOR JAN MCLUCAS AND BERNIE RIPOLL MP
TURNBULL GOVERNMENT MUST NOTIFY AUSTRALIANS IF THEIR MEDICARE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN BREACHED
STATEMENT ON QANTAS REDUCING FLIGHTS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

FILTER BY TYPE:

  • MEDIA
    • LOCAL MEDIA
    • NATIONAL MEDIA

FILTER BY YEAR:

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

© Catherine King. Authorised by Catherine King, Australian Labor Party, Canberra

Noise Birds

TOP