Drop prescription charge says BMA

[4me2]

Drop prescription charge says BMA


The government insists the system in England is becoming "fairer"


Doctors' leaders have called on the government to abolish prescription charges for all patients in England.
The British Medical Association (BMA) says the current system is not working and is "iniquitous" for many patients.
Prescriptions are free for everyone in Wales, will be free in Northern Ireland by 2010 and in Scotland by 2011.
But the BMA says the stance in England is outdated - and detrimental to the health of many, since charging can put people off taking medication they need.
Some age groups, pregnant women, people on benefits and patients with certain conditions remain exempt from the £7.10 charge.
Cancer patients
Public health minister Dawn Primarolo said: "In England, 89% of prescription items are dispensed for free, the remainder provide valuable income to the NHS, which goes towards to the safety and speed of healthcare.
"But we are making the system fairer. Cancer patients will be eligible for free prescriptions from 1 April and we're looking at how we can do the same for people with long-term conditions."
Making the list of exemptions longer will not make it fairer


BMA chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum

But the BMA is worried about creating a "new set of arbitrary winners and losers."
Chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum said: "Free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions is a laudable aim, but it does not go far enough.
"Making the list of exemptions longer will not make it fairer. Ultimately, we could end up with a situation where only a tiny proportion of prescriptions attract a charge, which would be nonsensical.
"Abolishing prescription charges altogether is the fairest and the simplest option."
The BMA said the current system was unfair, with people with asthma and heart disease, for example, not being exempt despite needing long-term treatment.
People whose incomes were low, but are just above the levels required to trigger exemptions, were also penalised, it said.
'Contradictory'
Scrapping all charges could improve care and benefit society. For example it could reduce hospital admissions because people take their prescription medicines, and it may help patients to return to work more quickly following illness, the BMA added.
Katherine Murphy, director of the Patients Association, said English patients were "left navigating an increasingly contradictory system".
She added: "We have long supported the abolition of prescription charges and welcome the BMA's stance. Patients are sick of healthcare lotteries." Ciaran Devane, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "We were delighted the government listened to us and abolished prescription charges for cancer patients. "It was absolutely the right thing to do and finally righted a wrong which stood for 40 years."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7925167.stm

[CzarJunkie]

More people on prescription drugs, thats exactly what the country needs. We should be encouraging people to take responsibility for their own health, not increasing the burden on the taxpayer by announcing free drugs for everyone.

While we're at it why don't we also give away free cigarettes, alcohol and McDonalds too, because that would also increase the pharmaceutical industry's profits even further.

The power of the pharmaceutical lobby knows no bounds.

[Roach-Rampino]

The power of the pharmaceutical lobby knows no bounds.

I am starting to wake up to this rather sinister fact.

Apparently pharmaceutical giants spend billions rubbishing any research that produces any negative results regarding their medicines; they pay GP's bonuses and send them on jollies to encourage/promote the use of their medicines and more so now their vaccines.

I have been looking into homeopathy treatments for my son as he has been suffering from a cough that doctors seem unconcerned about. Unfortunately he has already had most of his vaccines but the MMR looms (8 months away) and I am learning that it may not be the best route to go down for him (or any child). He is now being treated by a homeopathic doctor for his cough and I am keen to see the results the remedies yield.

[BertRoot]

Don't know about that CJ. This should put even more stress on the doctors to manage their budgets better and be more stringent on what they let out of the door.

[CzarJunkie]

Don't know about that CJ. This should put even more stress on the doctors to manage their budgets better and be more stringent on what they let out of the door.

The BMA is in the pocket of the large pharmaceuticals. While I agree with the need for doctors to have more pressure to do their jobs better, I suspect this move is motivated by nothing more than first class upgrades, swanky hotel suites and lavish parties all paid for by the pharmaceuticals.

[BertRoot]

I do agree CJ, I have a few friends who are medical reps and know the score with a lot of it. I have had my quacks recently prescribing me the cheaper European equivalent of some of the drugs I am on and have had to complain to get the UK ones that don't stick in your kraw. Boy was that a fight. I don't pay for scripts though.

[Nibb]

Unfortunately he has already had most of his vaccines but the MMR looms (8 months away) and I am learning that it may not be the best route to go down for him (or any child). He is now being treated by a homeopathic doctor for his cough and I am keen to see the results the remedies yield.

What do you plan to do for his MMR then Roach?

We went through the single vaccination route for our second and paid privately, or do you mean not to have the vaccinations at all?

[Roach-Rampino]

The BMA is in the pocket of the large pharmaceuticals.

From what I can deduce the NHS would pretty much collapse without them?

What do you plan to do for his MMR then Roach?

We went through the single vaccination route for our second and paid privately, or do you mean not to have the vaccinations at all?

I think the "None at all" option is preferable. Most parents are propagandised into believing that their child will be more at risk if they don't have the vaccines. However it would appear that many side effects (which are not always immediate or obvious) are intrinsically linked to the vaccines themselves. There is a wealth of very damning evidence that the triple MMR jab can lead to Autism and other brain related damage in children.

The homepathic doctor who is treating my son warned me that if and when we decide to opt out of the jab our GP will be "very pissed off" as they lose out on a financial bonus, which they receive per vaccine given. How true this is remains to be seen.

Have a read of some of these articles. Admittedly some are a few years old but it gives you an idea that fears have been around for some time.
2006: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...ming-true.html
2007: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...MMR-risks.html
2003: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...mr-734245.html
2009: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.p.../article/6283/

[Nibb]

Yeah the autism angle was why we didnt have the triple jab for our 2nd child and paid privately for separate vaccinations in 2004/5.

However, on the other hand if you go via the no vaccination route a small child with measles or mumps isnt the most pleasant thing to witness!

[Roach-Rampino]

Yeah the autism angle was why we didnt have the triple jab for our 2nd child and paid privately for separate vaccinations in 2004/5.

However, on the other hand if you go via the no vaccination route a small child with measles or mumps isnt the most pleasant thing to witness!

No mate I agree. The homeopathic doctor is confident that she can prescribe suitable and effective remedies for pretty much any illness that rears its ugly head. She did say that children respond particularly well to the remedies.

Depending on the outcome and results of the homeopathy on my boy's cough (which he has had for almost 2 months!), we will make a decision from there whether or not homeopathy is a suitable treatment for him and us.

On her recommendation I bought one of these. At £36 what have you got to lose? (apart from £36!).

[Nibb]

Fair enough.

However as a scientist I am very sceptical about homeopathy, should my child fall ill with measles or God forbid Meningitis I wouldnt be happy to let homeopathy try and sort it out.

Chronic non-life threatening conditions I agree, why not try homeopathy, but for anything else its modern medicine for me I'm afraid, but that's every parents choice to make!

[Roach-Rampino]

Fair enough.

However as a scientist I am very sceptical about homeopathy, should my child fall ill with measles or God forbid Meningitis I wouldnt be happy to let homeopathy try and sort it out.

Chronic non-life threatening conditions I agree, why not try homeopathy, but for anything else its modern medicine.

We made it for 20 centuries without modern medicine so I'm not sure that it's that essential?

[GTI]

We made it for 20 centuries without modern medicine so I'm not sure that it's that essential?

To be fair Roach, we are living a lot longer as a result of better healthcare provision. If you look at all other factors e.g. excercise, diet, stress levels etc.. they're all heading South, and yet despite all that, life expectancy continues to rise.

[Roach-Rampino]

To be fair Roach, we are living a lot longer as a result of better healthcare provision. If you look at all other factors e.g. excercise, diet, stress levels etc.. they're all heading South, and yet despite all that, life expectancy continues to rise.

Well yes maybe it's a bit strong saying that we don't need medicine but are we over-dosing on it?

[Nibb]

We made it for 20 centuries without modern medicine so I'm not sure that it's that essential?

If we want a life expectancy of 40 then thats fine!

I for one wouldnt be typing this now especially having had meningitis when I was seven!

[GTI]

Well yes maybe it's a bit strong saying that we don't need medicine but are we over-dosing on it?

For those doctors who take the time to investigate, diagnose and offer alternatives the results can be outstanding, but for the overworked inner City GP who has a full waiting room, all they want is a pill to get the patient out of the door. Patients likewise feel that they are getting short changed if they don't walk out with a scrip in their hand.

Basically I think the quality of care is pretty poor in the UK compared to continental Europe, and by quality of care I mean over-prescription of unecessery, or even dangerous medication.

[CzarJunkie]

I'm all for medical science when it comes to life threatening diseases and I agree that it's because of these advances in medical science that we are living longer.

However, there's a huge difference between life saving surgery and giving out shit like Gaviscon or similar remedies on prescription.

If the pharmaceutical industry didn't have a business model where repeat business was the main objective, I wouldn't mind so much. But so many of their efforts are aimed at drugs that treat symptoms and they're generally not interested in curing a patient or making people healthy. Where's the money in that?

They have fostered an attitude in society where there is a complete disconnect between what we consume and how our body performs. Now we eat, drink and smoke what the fuck we like and if anything goes wrong, it's straight down to see the GP. The fact we could have avoided it in the first place is completely lost on the majority of us.

[blaggard]

Homeopathy is an odd one based upon very dubious reasoning, diluting to the point of absence doesn't seem to make sense but herbalism might be a better plan. Obviously modern medicine is needed in some circumstances but alternative or supplementary treatment has its place.

[rmj2663]

Patients likewise feel that they are getting short changed if they don't walk out with a scrip in their hand.

Education is, again, the key. I know of quite a few of the 'older' generation that are absolutely pissed off with not getting a prescription for their cold. Fuckin heartless GPs!!!