| NHS - money to burn! |
Thu, 01 May 2008 17:49  |
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As a follow-up to recent posts about the NHS, I thought you might like to see this piece of NuLab craziness.
The patient, a 73 year old lady with hypertension has her cholesterol level well and stably controlled on atorvastatin.
But says the PCT (or whatever their Welsh equivalents are called) that drugs is too expensive (£18 per month) when generic simvastatin is so much cheaper (£2 per month).
So the lady’s medicine is altered to simvastatin.
Her cholesterol is now not so well controlled so Ezetimibe is added. The cost of this to NHS is £26 per month.
So total cost of treating the 73 year old lady’s cholesterol is now £28 per month. That’s a grand saving of minus £10 per month.
Well done the local prescribing advisors! Joined up tw*ttery at it's finest.
[n.b. This figure doesn't include the cost of totally unnecessary GP appointments at £30 a go, and additional blood tests - Ed]
(Taken from drrant.net 01/05/2008)
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| Re: NHS - money to burn! |
Thu, 01 May 2008 17:56  |
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At the risk of sounding like a NuLab apologist (I'm not!), can they be blamed for what looks like a case of local idiocy?
They set the guidelines, yes, but surely it is down to GPs/local NHS staff to make sure they're applied sensibly?
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| Re: NHS - money to burn! |
Thu, 01 May 2008 18:03 |
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You're probably right, Melmoth, but I remember being told about President Truman's desk, which had the sign, "The Buck Stops Here".
Even Bevan said that every bed-pan emptied was known about in Downing Street.
If the head is rotten, how can the body survive?
Thanks for your input.
lacewing.
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| Re: NHS - money to burn! |
Thu, 01 May 2008 18:17 |
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You make a fair point  Modern politicos only claim responsibility for successes (theirs and others) - not failures.
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| Re: NHS - money to burn! |
Thu, 01 May 2008 18:41 |
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Sorry if I came over a bit grouchy - I was a Labour supporter and member for more years than I care to think about and I feel betrayed and disenfranchised by this lot - and it's an old saying, the second part of one probably used here a lot... 'nor knows no rage like love to hatred turned'. Goldsmith, I think, but then you'd know better than me, I suspect!
Best regards,
lacewing.
ps. I think the quote about bedpans was that they were heard ringing in Whitehall, rather than Downing Street - I'd hate to misquote Nye!
l.
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| Re: NHS - money to burn! |
Thu, 01 May 2008 19:18 |
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No need to apologise - I didn't take your response as grouchy
In fact, I feel pretty much the same way about New Labour as you. Joining the Washington NeoCon terrorist campaign against nations that do not 'toe the line' was their low point for me - there was no excuse for Iraq (and even the Afghanistan campaign is ideologically unsound in many ways).
The reason I sometimes defend NuLab on these forums is that I fear a Tory government even more than I do the current lot of clowns. Also, I have a stupid sense of fair play which is probably a bit out of sorts with the modern world. 
Regards
Melmoth
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| Re: NHS - money to burn! |
Thu, 01 May 2008 19:22 |
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As the third largest employed in the world they ooze ineffiency from the very top, right down the line. If one manager will do, then let's have 2, and a PA as well for good measure. Lets blame the last government for the mess we are in, after all we have only had 11 years to sort it out.
Personal view, a person very close to me was told that there was no operation available, other than fusing a joint, to sort out a joint problem in one foot. This left the person in pain for 24 hours a day. Even going private would show the same result. £5,000 later, the operation that could not be done was done. Even the surgeon who carried out the procedure said it could be done on the NHS.
Complain to the local NHS, all gang together, no result, just little untruths. That person close to me works for the NHS, and the sector she is in is just as inefficient.
Drink in a brewery springs to mind.
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| Re: NHS - money to burn! |
Thu, 01 May 2008 20:22 |
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| Quote |
The patient, a 73 year old lady with hypertension has her cholesterol level well and stably controlled on atorvastatin.
But says the PCT (or whatever their Welsh equivalents are called) that drugs is too expensive (£18 per month) when generic simvastatin is so much cheaper (£2 per month).
So the lady’s medicine is altered to simvastatin.
Her cholesterol is now not so well controlled so Ezetimibe is added. The cost of this to NHS is £26 per month.
So total cost of treating the 73 year old lady’s cholesterol is now £28 per month. That’s a grand saving of minus £10 per month.
Well done the local prescribing advisors! Joined up tw*ttery at it's finest.
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Ah, its a Welsh one then! What a surprise!
Yes, very good at rationing on cheaper drugs are the Welsh GPs.
Unfortunately, it costs more in the long run, prescribing generics.
But don't worry, its only the NHS. All the brains but none of the common sense.
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