to think my dh should not have to buy his own dressings after an NHS op yesterday

[steffanny]

My dh had a large abcess drained under GA yesterday.

He went to GP surgery today for the nurse to re pack and dress the wound and needs to go every day for a week.

The nurse told him they 'do not stock dressings' and sent him off with a script for several items to dress his wound with all week including the gloves required. This cost him approx £25.

Is this right ? It seems absurd that nurses at the surgery do not have dressings or is this the norm ???? And gloves surely the surgery has those in stock.

sleeplodger they don't need to be sterile for a routine urine dipstick. Only sterile if the urine is going to be sent to be cultured in the lab. Why would you need a new pot every time? It's only wee, and your own wee at that.

Earthmother most support stockings are supplied singly but I agree it's a bit of a shock to have to pay 4 times. It's similar with some forms of HRT - if you need both oestrogens and progesterones you have to pay for both parts even if they're combined in one box!

Given that wound care costs the NHS something like 4 billion pounds annually and that dressings can cost a GP practice 2-4 percent of their entire prescribing budget then asking someone who is able to pay to do so isn't entirely unreasonable. Especially (as I said before) that you only pay a contribution to the cost - most dressings will cost far more than the 7.40 you pay for your script.

(I'll ignore Selks' ridiculous comment).

Iwantanotherbaby

I don't see how it is such a stupid comment. Flippant and generalising yes, but stupid, no. GPs run practices, they decide how much they are going to pay themselves and how much will be allocated to resources within the surgery including things like dressings. They could allocate a bit more and not expect to recieve such large pay packets, which are subsidised by tax payers after all.

Yes, the NHS is strapped for cash, and BECAUSE of that GPs should be more accountable for what they cream off for salaries and what they provide in surgeries.

If you go private i another country you get an itemised bill which will include such things as small packets of sterile gauze ans sterile scissors.

I've had friends who have nursed abroad and they itemise everything down to cotton buds if used. No-one is being ripped off in this country for health care I can assure you.

As for the GP on ridiculous amounts I disagree. I am not a gP but work closely with them and for the responsibility they have they are very welcome to their money.

If you want to get angry at the cost of dressings then direct it to the pharmaceutical industry which indulges in some anti competitive practices towards the nhs.

When you consider they are (iir) the 3rd largest global industry and dressings account for something like a quarter of their income, you have to consider who is the guilty party here.

Selks I am a GP.

You clearly do not understand how practice funding works. Why should GPs or the NHS provide items which are available on prescription, like dressings, for free? This is like asking GPs to provide all the drugs we prescribe for free. Dressings are treated in exactly the same way as drugs. When I inject, for example, local anaesthetic into someone myself, this is a personally administered item, and so they are not (usually) charged for it. The same applies to dressings applied by the Dr or nurse. But ongoing treatments, drugs or dressings, are subject to prescription charges. (The debate about whether prescription charges should or should not continue is an entirely separate issue.)

"GPs run practices, they decide how much they are going to pay themselves and how much will be allocated to resources within the surgery including things like dressings. They could allocate a bit more and not expect to recieve such large pay packets, which are subsidised by tax payers after all."

Practice funding is not that simplistic. We receive funds based on the number of patients registered, and how well we perform against target indicators. We use this to pay all our staff, buy equipment and eventually pay ourselves. We are not paid for dressings etc, and as such we do not fund them.

What you are suggesting is that GPs should personally fund these things. How is that in any way reasonable? Its like expecting teachers to pay for their pupils school books! Nonsensical, and based on ignorance.

BoysRock - I agree.

It isn't as if dressings require years and years of expensive research and testing to get a license, as new drugs do.

Thanks for the explanation, Iwantanotherbaby. I can see how my remark may have riled you. I still think it's unacceptable for basic dressings not to be provided, particularly if it means the difficulties that some people get into with trying to sort out getting dressings via a prescription if incapacitated.

I had my abcess treated by some lovely district nurses who provided all swabs, dressings, gloves etc themselves. It looks like I was lucky.

yes selks it looks like you were lucky as apart from the financial impact we are back and forth to the chemist to collect dressings (that never seem to come all in one batch) which is a pita as we both work ft and have 2 dc to keep us busy.

A good friend had an evil abcess on her back excised last year and it took almost two months to be healed enough to not need packing. A prepayment certificate was invaluable. Hope your husband is well soon.

i had an abscess on my c/s scar. went to the minor injuries unit (replaced local a&e) left with a course of abs, painkillers, tub of magnesium sulphate paste, about 50 dressings and some special wash to clean the area with. was in and out in less than 10 minutes.

I have never had a problem with the NHS. I'm in NI and hear absolute horror stories about NHS care in England.