"NHS care top-up" ban lifted

[SolomonQ]

Great news today, people who want treatment that is not available on the NHS can get it now without having the NHS care removed or having to pay for it. This was one thng I wanted to change in the NHS.

BBC NEWS | Health | 'Distressing' top-ups ban lifted

what do other people think?

[jaymags]

Re: "NHS care top-up" ban lifted

Not to offend you but did you read the whole of the article? I am left undecided about it. Good for those that can raise the funds and it's not just the cost of the drugs that the patient will have to cough up. The NHS has squandered so much money in the past, if the fat cats took a pay cut then surely everyone could get the treatment the deserved?

[paul2008]

Re: "NHS care top-up" ban lifted

Great news today, people who want treatment that is not available on the NHS can get it now without having the NHS care removed or having to pay for it. This was one thng I wanted to change in the NHS.

BBC NEWS | Health | 'Distressing' top-ups ban lifted

what do other people think?

I still say its a mistake.

Some people will benefit: Good for them

Some people will waste their money

Some people will be upset that they cannot afford treatment that has only a very slim chance of working.

Some people will but drugs that cause side effects or deterioration of their condition and expect the NHS to pick up the pieces.

If these groups are equally distributed only a quarter will benefit the rest will be harmed by this decision. I think it should only be allowed for forms of rationing or one off procedures like a better replacement knee joint than available on NHS (and then only to pay for the part itself as it were).

But perhaps it is better to let drug companies rip off the public rather than the NHS (keeps my tax money safe?)

[SolomonQ]

Re: "NHS care top-up" ban lifted

Not to offend you but did you read the whole of the article?

I did and abviously it's not exactly as wanted i.e. if NHS doesn't pay for additional treatment, you just pay for it yourself while keeping all the NHS treatment, but it's a step in the right direction.

I still say its a mistake.

Some people will benefit: Good for them

Some people will waste their money

Some people will be upset that they cannot afford treatment that has only a very slim chance of working.

Some people will but drugs that cause side effects or deterioration of their condition and expect the NHS to pick up the pieces.

abviously no one benefits in everything, take normal drugs for example, some people get treated, some people don't, other people get treated and get side-effects while some people not only get side-effects but not get treated at all.

Abviously people need to be guided in such circumstances so they can decide if any treatment would be what they wanted, one could look to countries like USA for guidance.

There's a big hoo-haa about this creating a two-tier system etc.. but I dont see the problem with this even if it does create such a system, the rich go and get the treatments they want anyway, privately. Why shouldn't relatively poorer people have the same chance, and for the really poor there's always all these health charities.

This is real life, you cant expect society to bail you out all the time every time. you have to give incentive to people to work, to have ambition in life, whats the point of working if you're going to get everything free anyway.

[DavidS]

Re: "NHS care top-up" ban lifted

I wonder if this will mean that we will be able to charge for giving patients a particular brand of a generically prescribed drug.

Solpadol "instead of" co-codamol 30/500, for example, and Istin "instead of" amlodipine besylate.

I have wanted to do this for years and years. It could be of real benefit to patients, doctors and staff alike.