Allegations of drug use confirmed by nurses

Press, 23 January 1988, Page 37

Allegations of drug use confirmed by nurses

PA Auckland Nurses say allegations that some Maori and Pacific Island women have been injected with a contraceptive drug without their informed consent are true.

“The allegation that some Polynesians, particularly Pacific Islanders have had Depo Provera administered to them without their full understanding and informed consent has been made from time to time,” the national director of the Nurses’ Society, Mr Bruce Wills, said. The latest complaints were made when the Nurses Society was preparing its submission to the inquiry into cervical cancer treatment at National Women’s Hospital in Auckland. Depo Provera has been used as a general contra-

ceptive in New Zealand for the past 20 years. Injected every three months, it releases the synthetic hormone, progesterone, to prevent ovulation.

The drug had not been approved in the United States, where it is produced, and independent research suggests sideeffects including increased risk of cancer of the uterus, cervix and breast, diabetes, anaemia, depression, hair loss and reduced sex drive, he said.

' The complaints prompted the society to issue “firm and uncompromising” guidelines to nurses that no injection should be given unless they were totally satisfied the patient fully understood what was happening. Mr Wills said the alle-

gation had been raised “on four or five occasions — maybe more — over the last 10 years.” Some complaints came from nurses expected to inject the drug and the most related to National Women’s Hospital. “The inquiries we made satisfied us that very careful attention needs to be given to the way in which Maori and Pacific Island patients are dealt with in terms of contraception.

“One fears there is some substance to some of the allegations,” Mr Wills said. Some women had claimed they did not appreciate the possible sideeffects of Depo Provera and, in some cases, did not even realise they were being given a contraceptive. The chairman of the

Auckland District Maori Council, Dr Ranginui Walker, has called for an inquiry into complaints that Maori and Pacific Island women were injected without consent to control population.

But Mr Wills said he did not believe there was any “deliberate, sinister policy” to inject women with the drug without their knowledge. "It’s purely and simply a problem that can be attributed to language difficulties and cultural differences," he said. “Contraception is not something ordinarily mentioned in many Polynesian societies or even discussed by husband and wife. Often, raising contraception with Polynesian patients involves extreme embarrassment. They may indicate they understand or agree when

they don’t, to hide their embarrassment.” Mr Wills said he would reserve judgment on whether a Health Department investigation was necessary until after the report of the cervical cancer inquiry which could have some effect on the situation.

The issue will be discussed at the next New Zealand Maori Council meeting and at the Pacific women’s group national conference at Hastings next month. Approaches to the Minister of Health, Mr Caygill, are expected to follow.

The Medical Superintendent of National Women’s Hospital, Dr Gabrielle Collison, said she could' not discuss the issues till after the conclusion of the present inquiry.