Lauren Paulsen is being failed by the government -- MLA Anna Kindy Calls for Action for British Columbians with Rare Diseases

Dr. Anna Kindy, Conservative Critic for Health, is calling on the government to take action as a Vancouver woman with a rare disease faces starvation unless she is given a crucial formula.

 

Lauren Paulsen, whose diet was already severely limited by a rare blood disorder called hyper eosinophilic syndrome, hasn’t been able to eat solid food for months after her jaw was broken during a dental surgery. Doctors have been petitioning the province to provide a specialized liquid formula that would meet her needs, but the government has ignored these requests. Lauren previously spent years fighting to get a prescription for Dupixent, which would have helped keep her disease in check, but was denied by the government, resulting in permanent damage.

 

“Lauren Paulsen is being failed by the government,” said Kindy. “Her family is advocating for her, her doctors are advocating for her, but the government is ignoring her. A healthcare system that will not provide life-saving treatment to patients, simply because their condition is rare, is an unacceptable failure.”

 

en is not the only British Columbian with a rare condition whose needs are being ignored by the government.

 

“This is a systemic issue in the B.C. healthcare system,” said Kindy. “Rare drugs are not being funded, and patients with rare diseases are being neglected. The government’s failures have resulted in significant suffering for British Columbians who could have been treated, and unbearable financial burdens on patients’ families as they seek treatment privately. This has happened too many times. 

 

Every British Columbian with a rare disease deserves access to life-saving treatment. By now, the government should have learned its lesson.”