"Tough Love" Cuts for sick and disabled!

tiddlertot

dori2o wrote: »

But what if that pain reliever caused further problems, left someone unable to function because of the side effects.

I take Morphine at quite a high dose (currently around 160mg a day) I also take around 270mg of Dihydrocodeine and 275mg of Amitriptytline.

Me, I take 180mg of morphine (MST) daily as well as copious amounts of Oramorph plus 200mg of Sertraline.

I seem to be able to function quite well on them.

Having the pain reduced by 50% is fantastic and what with the side effects, I feel 'on top of the world'.

And before you say that not everyone is the same, I know. I work round my disabilities. Sleep in the day as best I can, and am bright and breezy for most of the night - generally go to bed at about 5am enabling me to work from home for maybe 8 hours a day.

pauliboo

Poppie68 wrote: »

In my job throughout the years i have come across scores of people who visit their GP with the 'right symptons', start a collection of sick notes, are referred for help and either never turn up for appointments or cancel. Not only wasting NHS time but depriving geuine people of the chance of help.

I assume that you have no medical standing?

If so, how do you know that these people come to their GP with the 'right symptoms'?

I, on the outside look like a 'normal' able bodied person. What you can't see is the spinal arthritis (which is now in my hip) slowly making me worse.

I had to go on sick leave last year for more than 5 months, I was in agony and the trips to the GP to get a fit note took days of preparation, and also days to recover from.

I work full-time now but it took over 4 months of reduced hours to get me here, and that is stressful and very painful knowing full well that I can't take all my painkillers if I want to be able to drive to work and function.

Today is a bad day. I should get up every hour to stretch, but I haven't been able to move for over 2 hours. I'm desperate for the loo, and yet I look 'normal' to everyone else in the office.

Poppie68

pauliboo wrote: »

I assume that you have no medical standing?

If so, how do you know that these people come to their GP with the 'right symptoms'?

I, on the outside look like a 'normal' able bodied person. What you can't see is the spinal arthritis (which is now in my hip) slowly making me worse.

I had to go on sick leave last year for more than 5 months, I was in agony and the trips to the GP to get a fit note took days of preparation, and also days to recover from.

I work full-time now but it took over 4 months of reduced hours to get me here, and that is stressful and very painful knowing full well that I can't take all my painkillers if I want to be able to drive to work and function.

Today is a bad day. I should get up every hour to stretch, but I haven't been able to move for over 2 hours. I'm desperate for the loo, and yet I look 'normal' to everyone else in the office.

I have worked for the NHS for the last 25 years, the last 7 have been spent trying to get 'The blaggers' shall we say, to comply with treatment, turn up for GP and hospital appointments etc all they want is a sick note.

Gp's are now starting to question them more closely and in some cases refuse further sick notes until patient has been assesed, they dont turn up and register with new GP's.

We do regular prescription audits checking the figures for prescriptions issued and prescription filled, that too has been enlightning.

Health authorites are getting wiser as they start tightning their belts and rightly so, millions is being wasted on people that think nothing about wasting these millions that could be spent on treatment for the people that desprately want and deserve it and not on the people that just want to blag a few quid from benefits.

Just one example i will give, and only because this patient is no longer with our practice..

5 years this patient had been coming in and getting sick note for numerous back pains for IB had all tests nothing was found, patient comes to the surgery in tears etc with pain so she must be in pain.

3 years into it they turn up in a wheel chair and with a carer (spouse) asking the GP to do a letter of support for their DLA claim.

GP completes the letter, patient comes in about 4 months later to thank the GP for their support and hands them a bottle of whiskey, lets GP know they have been awarded HRC and HRM and had a lovely new shiny car outside.

1 month later same GP visits a sunday food market and comes across the patient running a stall, lifting boxes walking to and from a van without any sign at all of pain.

Patient never saw the GP, GP calls patient in the week after for a 'review' in they are wheeled by their carer.

GP tells patient it was nice to see them up and about last Sunday,but didnt want to bother them to say hello as they were busy, nice to see she was feeling better and that he would no longer be supporting her claims for IB by issuing sicknotes.

Never saw the patient or spouse ever again.

Some people act like it doesnt happen or an 'oh well' approach, well these people have helped to bring the NHS to its knees.

As for not being aware of peoples health problems from the outside, the 35,000 patients i deal with i am aware of.

Someone looking at me wouldnt know i took 37 tablets a day , had a butrans patch stuck to my backside and drank oromoph like it was pop, or that i have to walk with 2 sticks and use a wheelchair some days.

colin13

I lost my job,because unable to do it,I'll work,if it cam be done from a lying down postion,I worked from age of 16 ,till I was unable to work,I ain't lazy,avoiding work ,I ain't fit enough

tiddlertot

Poppie68 wrote: »

We do regular prescription audits checking the figures for prescriptions issued and prescription filled, that too has been enlightning.

Health authorites are getting wiser as they start tightning their belts and rightly so, millions is being wasted on people that think nothing about wasting these millions that could be spent on treatment for the people that desprately want and deserve it and not on the people that just want to blag a few quid from benefits.
.

Unfotunately I have a family member that does something similar.

I went in his shed to get something one Sunday and I have never seen so many packets of drugs in carrier bags in one place ever before.

I jokingly said that it was a bit of a security risk having that lot in there - Oh, he said, no they are the old ones that I have to burn.

It turns out this guy has three pages of repeat prescriptions ranging from Morphine, mental health drugs, blood drugs, thinners, cholestrol and goodness knows what else.

He keeps ordering them but never taking them. Been doing that for 3 years or so. The reason he gave was that he has a history with the GP needing all of these drugs. It works well when he puts in his renewal disability and sickness benefit claims in.

Parva

tiddlertot wrote: »

Me, I take 180mg of morphine (MST) daily as well as copious amounts of Oramorph plus 200mg of Sertraline.

I seem to be able to function quite well on them.

Having the pain reduced by 50% is fantastic and what with the side effects, I feel 'on top of the world'.

And before you say that not everyone is the same, I know. I work round my disabilities. Sleep in the day as best I can, and am bright and breezy for most of the night - generally go to bed at about 5am enabling me to work from home for maybe 8 hours a day.

Massive applaud there, that's some stamina you have. Oh wait, you're offline at 4.18am as I type. I guess you have to be up early to pour in your tax contribution to the disabled here, I'm awake because of damned phantom pains, it's wierd how you get pains in a leg you no longer have.

I am however intrigued in this business that you have where you pay all of this tax to help us shysters, I would like a job like that, one where I can sleep when I want, wake when I want and attack others in my free time.

Please do enlighten me about this job that you do that supports by way of tax us shysters that are fiddling the system as I would dearly love a job that I can do from my bed or wheelchair.....

paddedjohn

littlerat wrote: »

The government will realise it costs far more to actually treat people than leave them to perish, so it'll all be scrapped anyway.

The problem is, previous governments have just ignored the problem and threw cash left right and centre, at least now anyone who wants help to get off the beer or drugs will have some support to do so and some of the malingerers will have to sort themselves out or lose their beer vouchers.

ani_26

elsien wrote: »

However I work with people with disabilities who are never going to able to hold down a job of any sort. And I've seen the cuts that are now starting to bite where services which were almost non-existent in the first place have now vanished for adults completely in our area. Unless you're at crisis point. And probably not even then.
So the reality of these therapy and other treatments? I won't be holding my breath for anything meaningful or useful to come along any time soon.

Exactly. Cutting funding in one area, requires investment in funding in another. There simply, currently, isn't the "support" in place, ( due to cutbacks,) to support these somewhat idealistic policies. The support does, only come, ( if you are "lucky",) short term, whilst at crisis point.

pauliboo

Poppie68 wrote: »

Someone looking at me wouldnt know i took 37 tablets a day , had a butrans patch stuck to my backside and drank oromoph like it was pop, or that i have to walk with 2 sticks and use a wheelchair some days.

Hi Poppie,

I wasn't attcking you just trying to get a bit of background to your question.

You are right that there will always be people who defraud the system but I hope that you don't judge all people with bad backs the same.
You are probably only looking for the 0.5% that the DWP reckon are cheating the system.

That means there could be 99.5% of people with bad backs that have problems that don't show up in tests - mine didn't for 9 years of MRIs, Blood Tests and X-Rays. Google "Ankylosing Spondylitis".

My GP still put "low back pain" on my Fit Note even though my pain is in my thoracic spine and hip!

Poppie68

pauliboo wrote: »

Hi Poppie,

I wasn't attcking you just trying to get a bit of background to your question.

You are right that there will always be people who defraud the system but I hope that you don't judge all people with bad backs the same.
You are probably only looking for the 0.5% that the DWP reckon are cheating the system.

That means there could be 99.5% of people with bad backs that have problems that don't show up in tests - mine didn't for 9 years of MRIs, Blood Tests and X-Rays. Google "Ankylosing Spondylitis".

My GP still put "low back pain" on my Fit Note even though my pain is in my thoracic spine and hip!

No we dont judge all people with bad backs the same and my comments were not meant to insult anyone suffering with that particular ailment, it was just an example and sorry if i have
offended anyone:)