A.I.D.S. Victims Facing ‘unnecessary Suffering' (Press, 20 October 1988)

On 20 October 1988, concerns were raised by the People With A.I.D.S. Collective regarding the treatment of A.I.D.S. patients in New Zealand. The organisation claimed that some doctors were disregarding established international findings, resulting in unnecessary suffering for their patients. According to spokesman Daniel Fielding, the collective believed that certain medical professionals were continuing with questionable treatment methods, leading to a detrimental impact on A.I.D.S. patients' health, particularly concerning A.I.D.S.-related infections that caused a gradual degeneration of their condition. Fielding pointed out that communication with A.I.D.S. organisations in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Melbourne, as well as updates from the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta, supported their claims. They argued that effective preventive treatments for infections were crucial in fighting the A.I.D.S. epidemic. Notably, one of the most common and serious infections associated with A.I.D.S. was Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (P.C.P.), which, while treatable, could recur in patients. The group emphasised that such repeated infections could severely weaken patients, ultimately leading them to abandon their fight against the virus. Fielding indicated that P.C.P. could often be prevented through a course of preventive therapy, yet he highlighted that many New Zealand doctors were failing to prescribe these essential drugs even after instances of P.C.P. had occurred. He noted that since 1987, the collective had been attempting to make medical professionals aware that the recurrence of P.C.P. could be prevented. Although some doctors were receptive to their pleas, many remained sceptical, citing a lack of concrete evidence despite evidence indicating that patients on preventive therapies were faring better than those who were not. The report noted that as of that time, there were 91 reported cases of full-blown A.I.D.S. in New Zealand, with 40 individuals still alive, approximately half of whom were affected by P.C.P. The collective expressed frustration that those doctors who adhered to preventive treatment were not actively encouraging their peers to do the same. While Dr. Trevor Gebbie from Wellington Hospital refrained from commenting on the treatment issue, he acknowledged that the People With A.I.D.S. Collective had access to remarkably current information on A.I.D.S. treatments. Meanwhile, Richard Meech, chairman of the medical and scientific sub-committee on A.I.D.S., explained that various antibiotics could be utilised for preventive treatment, but the effectiveness of such therapies was still a matter of debate, reliant on retrospective rather than prospective studies.

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