To think that government cutbacks shouldn't start affecting medicine/prescriptions for children?!

[StaM]

My child has had a throat infection since Friday. I've been giving her Calpol over the weekend; it's had little affect whatsoever.

So today i popped into my local GP and asked at reception for a prescription. The receptionist said my dd might not get one because of all the cutbacks. She then said i might be lucky because Dr. Stuart (made up name) is in, and he's normally good with prescriptions.

I honestly thought she was joking.

Is this a new thing. Are the NHS seriously making cuts in prescriptions for children now?

Totally disgusting.

Couthy
I feel so angry on your behalf. I would get your consultants to write strong letters. I would also inform your PCT that you will hold them liable for any harm that your family suffers because of their failure to prescribe medication recommended by a consultant.

I thought the whole point of me paying my bloody taxes was so people who are unwell get their needs met .

The local schools and nurseries have stopped insisting on prescription labels for medications like calpol or whatever, because they know you can't get them!

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Couthy. Your situation is shite...no one should be struggling like you are.

Just a couple of suggestions to save you a bit of cash...DB is Coeliac and doesn't buy any specific GF products, but sticks to foods that are naturally GF such as rice and potatoes. He started to do this as a student, and continues to do so now as he doesn't like to draw too much attention. Also, local councils are required to offer gluten or dairy free school dinners, if requested to do so by a NHS dietician (is part of Disability Discrimination).

I'm struggling through. I'm reapplying for DLA for DS2, because the situation has become financially untenable. If they had prescribed what he needs I wouldn't have bothered when it's such a nightmare.

I'll also be applying for DLA for DS3 too.

So they've shot themselves in the foot anyway, by leaving me no choice but to claim and fight for DLA, to cover the additional costs.

So I'll get around it in the end, I now have a charity involved helping me, but it still makes me that I have to suffer in the meantime, yet the hospital bosses are schmoozing pharmaceutical companies with full Christmas dinners, made from scratch cheesecakes and salmon dishes when my DC's can't get essential medical equipment out of them, they refuse to pay their staff a minimal raise choosing rather to waste money on agency staff, and the patient's dinners get just £1.09 a day spent on them!

They offer the school dinners...but without fail they have been cross contaminated in the school's kitchen, and my DS1 then suffers agonising stomach pains. Can't risk it.

And I still have to provide them with things like GF bread, GF breadcrumbs and GF gravy powder. And GF ketchup. As they use a cheap brand that has gluten in.

And unfortunately, DS1 lives toast for breakfast, and lives his sandwiches and GF pasta...and dislikes rice, and hates fresh tomatoes. I can just about get away with tinned tomatoes if the flavour is well covered up by herbs and oxo cubes, but otherwise he won't touch it!

He likes dairy based sauces. Which a bit if a bastard now DS3 is here and is anaphylactic to dairy...

It's almost impossible to cook one meal for the entire family now!

I know, oxo cubes aren't GF, it's force of habit to say oxo cubes rather than Knorr stock pots - it doesn't trip off the tongue as easily!!

I've been thinking about this and I did get gaviscon without seeing a doctor when. I was pregnant.

See this is where it's all backwards :( health care is the one thing that should never be cut back on. If anything more money needs to be put into it. Paracetamol is one thing, yes there's no need to spend a fortune on the brand when the cheaper versions r exactly the same, but things like formula, medication that gets people functioning, u can't skimp on that. It's not going to save money, it's going to cost money when people end up hospitalized and requiring even more medication than before. Keeping people healthy so they can work or look after their kids, and not "drain " money on other aspects is going to save money long term. :(

DD's favourite dinner - pizza. Which is neither GF nor DF.

DS1's favourite dinner - GF pasta cooked as carbonara. Which isn't DF.

DS2's favourite dinner - spaghetti Bolognese. Which is too 'tomatoey' for DS1 to eat.

DS3's eats what he is given, but cannot have dairy, soy, nuts, peas, lentils, chickpeas, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pineapple...and the list grows each week. He's also allergic to turmeric!

Yes, but that's exactly the backward thinking my PCT seems to revel in...

Oh couthy, I feel so cross for you. Can't believe you had to pay for a nebuliser for your ds - I've always been given one which they maintain etc

Seems like we have different experiences accross different HAs then. As I said I have abs on repeat and not cheap abs, and have had this in several areas, therefore thought it was usual for those who have chronic disease.

It is sickening that some of the most poorly and badly off are struggling and not helped out. Shape of things to come though unfortunately.

Did you get the antibiotic op?

MadHair - I didn't have to pay - I could have waited on the 6 month long waiting list for the bit of medical equipment that enables him to live outside the hospital...

(Not much of a choice IMO!)

Something like 90% of throat infections are caused by viruses which cannot be treated with antibiotics.

I think anyone who thinks they have an "entitlement" to just ring up a doctor's surgery and ask for a prescription which may be completely unnecessary and without seeing a doctor needs to move to a country where you pay for all medicines!

Does she have bacterial tonsillitis, or viral? The GP would need to see her throat before prescribing, surely?

DS has recurrent tonsillitis, but has only twice been bacterial, so when that happens I get antibiotics for him.,

OP how do you know your child has the EXACT infection they had 2 months ago? Are you a doctor yourself?

Move to a country where they pay for medicines natation? Who do you think pays for ours? Scrap some if that ni and when i need a script i'll happily stump up my one time fee £50? £200? No problem. The p

-oint is... We all pay for everyone's medical care. Which is great., but not when the pct doesn't have the budget to then give you the drugs you need. Even though you've paid a fortune in tax all year! That's just not fair. Of course everyone would rather get an apt with dr than just ask on phone. Have you tried to get an apt in under 2 weeks recently?

Where we live, there is social security, national tax, city tax, if you're a single person, you're looking at paying 60% of income in various taxes. Then you pay for obligatory health insurance. Then you also pay for prescriptions and get a percentage back from the health insurance, you also pay a minimum of ?23 to see the doctor to get the prescription, again you get a percentage of that back from the health insurance. If you fail to pay into health insurance or fail to pay you social security, no refunds from the health insurance until you rectify your lack of payments. It sure makes people a bit less "entitled" to their medicines. That's the downside to the NHS, that people feel too entitled and forget about the fact that someone is paying for their entitlement.

I don't think people appreciate how stretched the NHS is. I don't mean you CouthyMow (just to be clear). And it really annoys me that people get different standards of treatment depending on where in the UK they live. That is just so extremely not on. I've never heard of antibiotics being prescribed without seeing a doctor first.