Do you think this should be happening in a developed country in the 21st century?
I take Evorel Sequi to treat osteoporosis. It runs in my family, my mother and two of my four sisters were crippled by it and I was diagnosed with it part way through the menopause, aged 48. There are four HRT products licensed to treat osteoporosis in this country, only one of which is suitable for me as it is the only one containing a progestogen, needed to help maintain womb health as I have not had a hysterectomy. Last week my usual pharmacy was unable to fill my repeat prescription and did not know when they would be able to, so I paid £81 online for 12 weeks supply.
On checking where I might be able to buy my next supply, I phoned around my local pharmacies. None of them had the product in stock and or knew when they would be getting any. A thorough search online revealed that none of the UK-based regulated pharmacies had any either, including the one where I had bought mine which had been imported from Germany. At several of them I was able to register an email address to notify me when they had stock again, which I did.
Do you think this is acceptable? Do you prefer to believe the government's assurances that there are/will be adequate medical supplies for all the population? If your answer is 'yes' you're deluding yourself – the nightmare has already been here for several months.
Don't talk to me about bisphosphonates. Apart from the facts that they're only available for four years' treatment, and no reputable doctor would prescribe them in my medical circumstances, the possible consequences are appalling. First the rare but diabolical side effect of the 'match girl's disease' phossy jaw. Google it if you've never heard of it. Second, a friend of mine, a tenured university professor in the USA, was walking across her campus to her office when her left femur suddenly snapped. She had been taking alendronate for two years. Although she didn't have any history of bone problems, the bisphosphonate drug had prevented bone renewal, instead it purports to strengthen bones by altering the bone microstructure. Her fracture never healed, in trying to pin and plate it her surgeons only caused more damage by the bone splintering in response to having pins inserted. After two years in a wheelchair in severe pain, unable to work or even think clearly, she ended her own life.
If you believe the Brexiteers' assurances about medical supplies, then you should believe their promises about adequate food supplies. Michael Gove actually said that there would always be an adequate food supply; he definitely did not say that it might not be what you and your family actually want to eat. Neither did he say anything about adequate supplies for those people on restricted diets for medical conditions.
Am I scared? Scared doesn't begin to describe my worries. Both Dominic Raab and Jacob Rees-Mogg have said that temporary difficulties in getting medical and food supplies are only 'a bump in the road ahead', a 'sacrifice worth making'. This was particularly grotesque coming from Rees-Mogg who makes money investing in companies that produce HRT and other medical products.
I wrote to both of them making the point that my health, my life, isn't a 'bump in the road', even less a 'sacrifice' for anyone to make. They have no right. As members of the government their first obligation is to protect the wellbeing and safety of the whole population, not just those who can afford to avoid the consequences of their actions. I haven't had an acknowledgment, never mind a proper response.
Are you worried? If not, you should be. You should also be angry that this government dares treat you with such disregard, such contempt. For a decade now we women have borne 86% of the consequences of austerity. That's not enough suffering for these Tories, there's more to come.
Tory: an old Irish word originally meaning a highwayman, now a criminal or wanted man. How apt.