NI to scrap prescription charges

roddydogs

bribrian wrote: »

Apparently money saved from streamlining...............

So why cant we "Streamline" in England, then?

stingylolo

Personally I think they should review the whole thing really.
Everybody should pay or not pay for their prescriptions. Even a small amount if they're on benefits or pensioners.
If they want to do free prescriptions on medical grounds, then it should be reviewed. It's not fair that someone who's had their thyroid taken off gets free prescriptions, when someone who suffers from cancer and is not on low income still has to pay even though it's a life threatening disease. It's not fair that diabetics get free medication, when someone with cystic fibrosis who is lucky enough to lead a normal life but still has to take a lot of medication doesn't get free prescriptions. It's not fair that someone who has coeliac disease get their shopping on prescriptions. I know gluten free stuff is more expensive, but an allowance would be better and fairer, because now GF foods are widely available, and that would stop on person from being only allowed to have 12 loaves of bread a month when someone else is allowed bread, mixes, cakes, pasta and goodness knows what else.
People should pay for their hospital meals, which should be tasty and balanced. People need to remember that they are at the hospital, not in a restaurant, and therefore meals "A la carte" should be scrapped. People should pay a small fee for each meal, it's not like they'd get out of pocket because they save buying food at home.
I think prescribing should be more regulated. Cost-effective drugs should be selected as main choice for certain medical conditions (why should someone get a £20 statin when a £5 one reduces their cholesterol as well), and an eye should be kept on dispensing practices for which doctors prescribe more expensive drugs (on prescriptions -> which the NHS have to pay for) because their dispensary has a deal with the drug company and they can make more profit if they prescribe that more expensive drug.
I think they should review the price the NHS pays for drugs, which can really be silly at times like they'd pay back £1.30 for a prescription for 32 paracetamols, when you can buy them in tesco for as low as 40p.
I think they should scrap all the paper pushers that are not essentially needed, and forget about the artists that they pay to expose in hospitals. Maybe they should ask the local art club to put their items for sale with a contact number, so that they get some colour on the wards, without money coming from the NHS and at the same time help the local community.
The fact is that the NHS costs more and more, and that the cash flow is getting low. Something has to be done. The NHS should only be dealing with medical problems. They should make it more attractive for doctors and nurses to work for them, instead of paying twice the rate for agency staff. They should spend more than minimum rate on cleaners and give them an incentive to do proper cleaning, instead of employing outside agencies that cost more and can't be bothered to do their job properly.
They should scrap all the useless targets that prevent people from doing their jobs while they're filling paperwork, and instead work out ways to improve efficiency and how quickly patients get seen.
I know it's a pain to read my post, sorry, got a bit carried away. I know it's not as straightforward as that, but it seems that no one has a clear grip of what's going on in the NHS.

By the way... does the NI collected in each country of the UK get given back to the NHS of that particular country, or is it all collected and re-distributed? Why should England be different to the other countries then, and pay prescriptions charges way above the average rates of the other countries?

The NHS will never be free... you will always have to pay for it somehow (tax, prescription fees, etc... ).. It's just more free for some than others !

CC_Bloom_2

jellynose wrote: »

:T

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7641637.stm

My only worry is that it will take even longer to get a docs appointment with people wanting free medication rather than paying for an over the counter solution. I wonder if they will bring back the minor ailments facility in the chemists?

My local chemist currently has petition about the loss of their ability to prescribe for minor ailments. It was a great service for those of us with young kids entitled to free prescriptions anyway and who are so prone to lots of niggling bugs. Now I have to pester my GP - what a waste!

sleepymy

CC_Bloom wrote: »

My local chemist currently has petition about the loss of their ability to prescribe for minor ailments. It was a great service for those of us with young kids entitled to free prescriptions anyway and who are so prone to lots of niggling bugs. Now I have to pester my GP - what a waste!

Isn't the Chemist in Carryduff is it?

For those on the mainland annoyed by this, don't forget, you get much better health services than us (in general). For example, the mainland got something like £25 million funding for specialist ME centres a couple of years ago and NI got nothing.

You get better services in general for most things.

happymummy24-7

It was the Gordons chain of chemists that was offering this minor ailmants service,which was great as i didnt have to keep pestering my GP when one of the kids had a bug and a temp or they needed something for an allergy through the summer........they had the scheme suspended and are trying to petition to get it back! They were just about to extend it too for things like athletes foot and things like that.seems a shame,hope they get it back.