One for the Welsh pharmacists on here:
BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | Tories to end free prescriptions
Keep it surreal
One for the Welsh pharmacists on here:
BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | Tories to end free prescriptions
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/t...snroses2-1.jpg
”We are real. We are not glam sh*t or anything else. We are Guns N’ Roses.”
Top-Class Member
Crazy.
Scotland no university top up fees, almost free minor ailments, better overalll healthcare provision (you get 10% more spenton you up north)
Wales free prescriptions...
England?
Thousand Plus Poster !!!
maybe because the english tax payers are funding both the welsh and scottish NHS....etc
Perhaps i am wrong...
Last edited by Rafael; 2nd, July 2009 at 01:10 PM.
King Amongst Members
Originally Posted by Raoul
Don't say that because it'll upset many people, any extra benefits the scottish get are because of the North Sea oil that belongs to them, because they are in the north and the north sea is in .......the north :d , and the Welsh have........their sheep???or erm the millenium stadium?? or the M4 (EAST)??? woopsy, oh yea and the Scottish also have Andy Murray, Yay!!!
(JOKE)
P.S. the Rx charge is a total joke
King Amongst Members
I feel very guilty giving out low cost items against an NHS Rx since this way the NHS is technically making money off the illness of people, just like in countries like the US, and this is totally against the concept of the NHS. Especially as this charge normally applies to hard working individuals, who have paid into the pot for so many years, paying their taxes, paying their NI, and on the rare occasion when they are ill they need to pay £7.20 per item.
Believe me if you were selling the same thing at say £10, e.g. if Pen VK 250mg tabs or Amox 250mg caps became P meds, people would happily pay £10 for that. But it's the whole setup of the thing where the people gets frusrated. Getting an appointment takes days if not say a week, then you have to wait maybe an hour longer than you thought you would have to, then you have your 2 minutes with the doc, who hands you a piece of paper (and gives no indication that you can actually get the same med from a pharmacy cheaper than on Rx).
my solution for the survival of the NHS....a two-tier system, where there's the normal free NHS, but a second level where a small (or large) charge will be made say monthly (similar to health insurance), and this means you will recieve priority in the levels of service you recieve, this system would be more efficient than it is at the moment.
e.g. say a hospital does 10 operations of x type a day, 2 of those places will be reserved for priority patients, then if you work it out their turn would come quicker than it normally would, (as the que they#ve joined is smaller) or say there would be a maximum waiting time for a priority patient of 3 months for an operation, if the NHS can't deliver this they will have to refer the patient to a private service paid for by the NHS.
Also certain drugs could be made available to the priority patients or given easier access, which are not normally available on the NHS, e.g. sildenafil without SLS.
i've not fully outlined it here but to many it will sound like a "very right wing" idea, and maybe highly disapproved, but I believe people should have things to work towards, if people get things for free they tend to not value them, e.g. in this country no one really has any sense of the pricing of drugs and medical appliances. How many people have seen shocked faces when they tell patients the price of say a dressing or a pack of glucose testing strups, and how many patient returns do you get of these expensive items e.g. neb solutions.
and a final point for anyone who disapproves of two-tier systems, football is a game, mainly supported by the "poor" "working class", which is true for the fan base of even the larger clubs, the cheapest season tickets for these are about £500-600 for 18 matches, for the worst seats in the stadium. Around the country many hundred thousands of seasons tickets are bought, thats maybe two-three weeks pay for them, and they pay it because they like the product for that money i.e. entertainment. Healthcare is also a product and it is not a right like some may think, maybe for the basic treatments i.e. normal level patients in above example.
I offer an alternative as always, this time it's to cut costs, in every single way, as is happening with cat M etc...
Active Member
Totally agree about the 7.20 per prescription is does all mount up, however my concern is the way appointments seem to be 'book on the day' its all very well if you dont work.... you spend 15 mins trying to get through to the reception to book at appointment to see the doctor whilst trying to work out when you can book the time of work, for the receptionist then to tell you that theres no pre-bookables left and you have to ring on the day... VERY AWKWARD when you can't just 'leave' to go doctors without giving notice for cover... !!!!! frustrating!!
King Amongst Members
That sounds rather like the system we have in Ireland at the moment. About one third of the population get NHS style free services, the rest pay either directly or through private health insurance.
Sadly it isn't more efficient. In fact it can be less efficient as many services are duplicated and there is US style overtreatment of insured patients while public patients suffer long waiting lists.
It is also a real burden in terms of costs to patients. If you are even a little over the threshold for free services, which is quite low - well below the average wage - you can have to pay up to €100 (about £85) a month for your prescriptions and about €50 for each doctor visit. That makes a 7.20 per item charge seem very reasonable.
I agree that nobody appreciates what they get for nothing and think that EVERYBODY should have to pay a small amount for each doctor's visit and for each prescription item - no exceptions. This would cut out a lot of unnecessary doctor's visits and a lot of the waste we see on both sides of the Irish sea.
I know people will say the charge will just creep up but it could be fixed to the price of everyday items, say the price of a packet of cigarettes for a doctor visit and the price of a bag of crisps for a prescription item.
Newly registered in 1981
Problem with charges is they are constantly a political football.
Then there has to be an army of people to collect and monitor them.
Where am I?; In the Pharmacy.
Who are you?; The new Number 2.
Who is number 1?; You are number 6.
What do you want?;..................
Moderator
The public unions will resist any attempt at reform and simplification as will lead to job reduction. What you must understand that new rules and regulations on everything are just to make people more dependent on the govnmt, who can then boast they are reducing unemployment.
An example is the possibility of legalising heroin. If this was done, then a lot of people and companies (eg exchange supplies) would have less employment. If crime is reduced, then less police, prisons etc needed. They all have a vested interest in keeping things as they are.
After all, if racism disappeared, then Trevor Phillips would be out of a job.
The sins of the few make jobs for the many.
We depend for our living on the ill health of the nation.
johnep
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