to expect more from the NHS???

[IWipeArses]

Asked at the doctors front desk for some condoms on Monday, receptionist said the nurse would leave some for me to collect on Tuesday. Great, perfectly acceptable, had one left.
Picked them up. There's 12. 12? How often do they expect me to go back?!

What evidence do you have that the NHS has no money? Any more than any other publicly funded service?

It still exists.

The NHS provides fee contaceptives; in order to be effective, you need to be given enough. Why should condoms be any different? I need 21 pills a month and I get a three months supply at once, if someone needs more than 12 condoms, why should they have to go back to the Drs every week? No other form of contraceptive would require you to go back to your Drs every fews days FGS.

God, whatever. Live in la la land then, the NHS is rolling in cash and condoms should fall from the sky like rain.

Quite, EasilyBored.

If they were available on prescription this problem wouldn't exist. it's odd that they aren't.

Plus, for every £1 spent on contraception the NHS saves £14.

The country saves more in the form of reduced benefit bills etc.

mrsunshine, but should that just stop at condoms? Or as a poster said earlier things like stop smoking schemes should be paid for too? Should the nhs give the contraception pill for free to those that can pay for them themselves, or should those more well off go private for their contraception?

We have no idea about the OP's financial situation either, she could be skint and that's why she went to the doctors for condoms.

Well I need to know now, how long will 12 last you? Are you at it every night?

IWipe - could your DP get condoms as well? Then you have double the amount?
Joint responsability and all tha?

I think that any meagre saving they would make from withdrawing the provision of free condoms would be more than offset by the cost of unwanted pregnancies, so money well spent imo.

Having said that, I would rather buy my own than face the humiliation of asking for them (that's just me though).

Somehow asking for the pill isn't quite the same thing, because it is available on prescription only and so there is no alternative to asking the doctor to prescribe it.

Maybe double up by asking for some from your local family planning clinic too? (If there is one)

I agree the pill isn't the same thing. Many people are on the pill for more than avoiding pregnancy. Heavy periods. Irregular cycle. Estrogen replacement. Hormone regulation etc.

@alphabite those are just happy side-effects. I chose hormonal contraception as I need contraception and the hormonal regulation is better than no hormonal regulation for me.
I think I should get a rebate in the form of the amount of money I have saved the NHS (and paid in taxes) from not being barefoot and pregnant due to my contraception use.

I see what you mean about being on prescription. But if you're going to offer free contraception than it should apply to all forms to be fair to everyone, since hormonal contraception isn't suitablr for some people. I suspect condoms are cheaper anyway.

I did feel a little embarrassed asking at the desk, but I couldn't get in to the FP clinic this week and I thought frankly, why the fuck should I have to pay for the only form of contraception that doesn't involve altering my body. Why should I pay when I wouldn't pay for the pill or the coil?

I'm pretty sure if I'd have seen the nurse in person and asked for some more she'd have given me some more, but there was something about the actual cat's bum face the receptionist made when she handed them over that irritated me.

Under normal circumstances these days these would last ages, but I'm going to shag DH senseless nightly now on principle.

Just go into a shop and buy some, or dont shag..

Ah, principle sex. Love it!

go to the nearest uni freshers week, they give them away free at all events.

Oddly enough I went to the GP this morning and she offered me condoms. I admit that I could pay for my own but I took what was on offer.

My GP is mean though - she only gave me TEN!!

Sadly in our part of the world the NHS do not fund condoms - the GP practices buy them to offer, but there are lots of other options which are free to you (and more reliable).

I get all the arguments about unplanned pregnancies and STDs costing the NHS more - then I think about how much my prescriptions cost me a month,the aim being to keep me alive(not that I am in imminent danger of death,but still...),not just to let me participate in an entirely voluntary,though enjoyable,activity...

And about NHS waiting lists,and the restrictions on "low priority" procedures.I can't really see why in that climate contraceptives should be free to everyone - if you have to budget for medical treatment why not for contraception?

I work in the NHS and the GPs cannot/will not give Urea based cream to diabetic patients to keep there skin (on their feet) in good condition so helping to prevent skin splitting and possible ulcers.
Which then costs £££ for me to treat (time and dressings) and the patients time.(False economy on part of the GPs, they have to prescribe the dressings )

True you can buy it but it's £8+. So many people won't pay out.

I think condoms are probably cheaper (and safer because they protect against most STIs) than say the pill or the coil. Even if you gave condom using people 365 condoms so they could have protected sex every day of the year (like those on the pill or implant) it would probably still be cheaper than providing contraception in the form of the pill, especially when you take into account the cost of the dr's/nurse's time.