It's A Tax

[xerxes]

My sympathy to you, and I wish you all the best with the treatment.

 

[WDIK]

My sympathy to you, and I wish you all the best with the treatment.

nah

dont cry for me argentina

 

[dextrous]

I can't quite understand how, since "treatment" via the NHS is allegedly free at the point of use (apart from the car parks of course) and chemicals are a part of a treatment, how does the government explain this discrepancy between their claim and policy reality

 

[Donkmeister]

My wife has multiple sclerosis and has to pay for her medicine.

If she has to pay for MS medicine, that's not right.

I know there is a problem with drawing the line as to what should be free and what shouldn't, but anything that is both debilitating and longterm (or in this case, permanent) should be free (in my view, at least). It's one of the better uses for taxpayers' money.

The cost for this could be offset by charging quacks and charlatans... sorry, homeopothists, a million billion pounds a year.

 

[dextrous]

I know there is a problem with drawing the line as to what should be free and what shouldn't

Silly old me - I thought that's what we paid our taxes for. Who decides anyway, other than administrators - is it still true that there are more admin staff than beds?

 

[JohnD]

My wife has multiple sclerosis and has to pay for her medicine.

If she has to pay for MS medicine, that's not right. ... .

presumably she has a Prepayment Certificate, which puts a cap on it?

 

[xerxes]

In her particular case,as she's given no medication for MS her use of prescriptions is actually quite low, so the prepayment scheme doesn't really apply.

 

[dextrous]

In her particular case,as she's given no medication for MS her use of prescriptions is actually quite low, so the prepayment scheme doesn't really apply.

My sister has MS quite badly, and get's a full care package, including money for all medicines required (although this is mostly for diazepam and antibiotics for when she gets water infections and has a fit). Am surprised your wife has to pay anything. Hope she's not too far progressed - it's not a nice thing for all concerned.

 

[JohnD]

My prepayment card cost me £104 this year, so if she's spending less than £2 a week on scripts that's not much.

 

[Goldberg]

dextrous said that "chemicals are a part of a treatment", as if that's an accepted fact, but they aren't.

Drugs cost money, and the NHS shares that cost with the patient. In many cases it pays much more than the patient.

 

[gavinda]

Dammn, sorry about that.
being a Cancer sufferer personally, leads me to forget others woes

damn dude..... i finished chemo 4 months back, hows your prog?

free chemo parking ftw

 

[dextrous]

dextrous said that "chemicals are a part of a treatment", as if that's an accepted fact, but they aren't.

Drugs cost money, and the NHS shares that cost with the patient. In many cases it pays much more than the patient.

So, in a hospital, pain relief, anaesthetics, pre and post op drugs, etc etc etc aren't part of the treatment? Everything about the NHS costs money, and the patient shares the cost with the NHS through taxes anyway, so I find it difficult to differentiate as easily as you on this one.

 

[imamartian]

Isn't the NHS funded through NI?

 

[JohnD]

in a hospital .

that's the difference.

 

[gavinda]

it must be something to do with the difference between hospital and gp prescriptions. all my chemo **** was free but when i went to my gp for painkillers and the flue jab i had to pay. mind you my last chemo was 11 feb this year.