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TO:
The Minister for Health and Ageing, The Hon Tony Abbott MP

Re: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Health Policy

Dear Minister,

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that people with MCS suffer from lack of recognition of their disability in Australia. Many with MCS have a deep fear of calling for help from the medical profession due to the lack of the profession's ability or will to understand their condition. Perhaps the biggest reason for this fear is having a life-threatening reaction to an administered drug.

They also do not want their condition to be exacerbated by being exposed to perfume, cologne, perfumed cleaning products, disinfectants, air fresheners, etc found in the indoor air of hospitals. They also could react to the plastic oxygen masks, intravenous fluids in plastic bags and latex gloves that are used.

Knowing how to provide treatment, in particular emergency treatment, to a chemically sensitive person, who is in active distress, is difficult and presents a challenge to hospital personnel. The most important thing to do is to listen to the patient, accept what they are saying and respect their limitations. It needs to be remembered also that MCS patients may have difficulty communicating verbally if they have been or continue to be chemically exposed.

MCS is a serious and complex condition that is poorly understood by most health care providers. People with MCS may have to access hospital or the emergency section of a hospital because of an exacerbation of their MCS symptoms or from an unexpected accident. It is important that hospital personnel are familiar with MCS so that care can be balanced between what is life-saving and appropriate versus what can actually produce more harm to the patient.

Australian school students with MCS are not currently categorised as a disability group, with the result that many are unable to attend school. Those who do attend classes must suffer exposure to chemicals which affect their physical and mental functioning due to poor indoor air quality and ignorance by the school system.

There is now little doubt that a significant proportion of the world's popultion reacts to accumulating toxicity in the environment . When will Australian health policy reflect the needs of the 15-30% of the population who are disabled by this condition?

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Yours Sincerely,

(Your name)