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Things they are a changing
My continuing illness(s) mean that I have regular contact with my GP surgery, mainly for requesting repeat medications, as I feel it is pointless wasting the doctor’s time when I know there is nothing that can be done to change things for me (two neurologists have told me that).
However, lately things have been different. My requests for medications have to be approved by their in house pharmacy team, and I am now finding that I am refused medication because it is too early to ask for it, the pharmacists think I should not have it, or it is too expensive. Increasingly then I find I am being told by them to buy the medication as they will not prescribe it (them being the pharmacists). Apart from the fact that it seems like the tail wagging the dog now, it does appear that there is back door privatisation. The doctors will willingly give me a private prescription to go and buy the necessary medication but will not let me have it on the NHS. In addition to this we cannot ask for the medication more than three days in advance. Those of you who have the mobility needs because of MD will know that it is not always possible to get the medications on time for many perfectly legitimate reasons (like not being able to physically get out, or having rampant pain), and thus like to have some sort of reserve in store. this is no longer possible and thus more than once now I have had to go ‘cold turkey’ because I ran out a a pain killer. The last times this happened and I had to call the doctor to get more I had to wait 8 and 5 hours respectively before contact let alone getting the medication.
I wonder if I am alone is is this becoming the norm where treatment is no longer free at the point of need? I need to travel 150 miles each month to get physio as my local NHS will not pay for it, and it now begs the other question, where will this all end? I know the NHS is not in a good way (ask Mr Trump), I worked there for over thirty years, but when you see drunken people , and those who have been fighting at the weekend being seen time and time again in A&E, you have to ask why we cannot get the treatment we NEED through no fault of our own.
I strongly believe that the above two mentioned groups and similar should be charged for their self inflicted state, perhaps then A&E would be less busy and more money would be available to treat those who so desperately need it.Rant over thanks for reading.
Mike
So many love songs, so little love.
Reply To: Things they are a changingHello Mike,
You have my sympathies, not that that helps you. What I will say is that if you need medication it should be provided free. We all know that spending on the NHS it Has been capped and has failed to keep up With inflation, but you still have the right to free medication and treatment.Have you tried to contact your MP?
I agree with you that there is backdoor privatisation. Situations like yours prove it. We need to put pressure on the government to increase funding. We have to do it by voting for politicians who will meet our needs.
However, I must disagree with your point regarding certain groups being made to pay for treatment. The NHS should be a service for everyone, free at the point of delivery. If you start picking out groups who should not receive treatment what happens to those people? What other groups could be included? Maybe some people may think that people like us with MD Should not get treatment. They may ask why should I pay for someone else’s medication? No, treatment should be free to everyone.
The government keeps telling us we are the fifth richest Country in the world. I think that should mean we can provide Health care for all. Don’t let them divide us into groups. If you do that you may find yourself in the” wrong” group.David
Reply To: Things they are a changingThanks for your thoughts Diggers. I have not tried contacting my MP as he is rarely available to speak to anyone, and is never seen in the town at all. When you write to him he is not concerned about your problem only in covering the governments back and telling you every thing is wonderful. I did try once when I could not get a Disabled Facilities Grant to get a stair lift installed. I could not understand why they would only help me if the project was more than £133k. His answer, sending me a copy of the Act of Parliament some fifty pages long. I have now accepted that I am not represented at all and democracy has failed here, as have many in the locality.
I can see your point about charging some groups and not others. Treatment should be free at the point of need without a doubt, but when the necessary treatment is as a result of self determined action like fighting, I am personally not sure they should get away with it. If you have spent time in A&E like my wife and I have you wold see where I am coming from. It will never happen of course, but there are lots of things now being discreetly privatised. Dental of course has been with us for years, as has optical. hearing aids are following, buying your own meds is coming and many other things too. At elast I am now at that stage of my life where I will not be around to see many of these things as the NHS for which I was proud to work, gradually gets torn apart.Mike
So many love songs, so little love.
Reply To: Things they are a changingHello Mike.
Enjoying our debate! Firstly your MP, if you live in an area where your MP has no worries about losing his seat, then yes it is hard to get them to do anything. Luckily, our MP only has a narrow majority. It is one of the problems of our parliamentary system. However, that is another debate!
I am also fortunate that I attend a very good respiratory unit, the Lane Fox Unit, at St Thomas’s hospital and have good social services in our area. I have all the equipment, medical, and social that I require at this moment.
I have spent many hours in A&E. I am ventilator dependent 24/7, my brother and sister who both had muscular dystrophy, like myself, both of who have now died, spent many hours in A&E and in hospitals generally. My eldest daughter, has severe asthma and my mother died in September 1st last year. So I am aware of the problems.
About my point, regarding charging some people. I just wonder who would we leave out of the system? Drug takers? Drinkers? Smokers? Overweight people? Anorexics? People with mental health issues? Long-term unemployed? Asylum seekers? What’s about people who do dangerous sports? Or just sports? My brother-in-law was told by his GP on three occasions, that he didn’t think he should get treatment! Why? Because he hurt his knee playing football, his ankle playing squash, and his back exercising in the gym! I thought doing sport is recommended?
I agree with your point made earlier, that the NHS is being slowly privatised. I fear the System we will end up with in 40 or 50 years will be like the American system. Right now some 40 million Americans do not get coverage under their system.
DavidDavid
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