An advocate is calling for former Health Minister David Clark to be held accountable for the deaths of several Kiwis who died after PHARMAC switched an epilepsy medication.
PHARMAC came under criticism for changing to a generic form of epilepsy drug lamotrigine, called Logem, in October 2019 to save money.
Family members have claimed the change killed their loved ones, and a Coroner's hearing into the issue is set to begin on Monday.
The Chair of Patient Voice Aotearoa Malcolm Mulholland told The AM Show that they had people pushing for the drug not to be changed.
"We have some very strong advocates in the epilepsy space and they went to just about every authority you can imagine to say 'Please stop this. This is not international practice, if you push ahead this could very well result in the deaths of Kiwis.'
"They went to the Ombudsman, they went to the Health and Disability Commissioner, they went to the Health Select Committee, they went to the Ministry of Health, they went to the Minister of Health and the Prime Minister and no one did a thing."
Mulholland said that six deaths have been referred to the Coroner but as many as 10 people may have died as a result of the drug switch.
But the drug-switch wasn't a case of negligence, he said, and PHARMAC knew that in changing the medication used by thousands of Kiwis that it could cost lives.
Mulholland told The AM Show he hopes the Coroner's process can see whether they think the drug switch contributed to their deaths and he ultimately wants accountability for this "absolute debacle".
"It's David Clark, he was the Minister at the time that this happened, people continued to petition him and said you have to interact, you have to stop this. He didn't and we are left with the mess that we are currently faced with today...
"Ultimately it's a question of who is responsible for PHARMAC, who sets the parameters for PHARMAC, who reviews the organisation and who sets the budget. Don't hide behind this independent basically claptrap. The Government is ultimately responsible for PHARMAC."
David Clark's press secretary has been contacted for comment.
