Do you get your shampoo from the Dr.?

I read somewhere - don't know how true it is - that each prescription costs the NHS around £7 in admin alone. If so it's ludicrous that people are getting relatively very cheap and easily available items like paracetamol on prescription. Especially if they are better off pensioners getting them for free.

After someone we knew very well died not long ago, his wife offered me several large boxes of paracetamol (dozens in each, not like the packs you see in the supermarket). Otherwise they were going with all his huge stash of unused free prescription items - I had more than once counted over 60 stockpiled items - to be destroyed.

This was someone who left over £1m cash and two houses paid for.

When I had shingles last year the GP advised co-codamol , and told me I could buy it over the counter. I was glad she didn't automatically assume that I wanted it for free. Evidently she had judged (correctly) that I could afford to pay for it.

A Swedish friend tells me that in Sweden - popularly supposed to be a socialist Utopia - everybody pays a small amount for prescriptions, even her dad who was over 90. Though there is an annual cap - maybe around £100 IIRC - for those who need a lot.
They also have to pay a small amount for visits to GP, A&E, and something for the 'board' element of hospital stays. And this is a country where income tax is already relatively high.
Swings and roundabouts though - the cost of childcare is vastly cheaper than here.

Another drain on our NHS are Health Tourists. Check out fullfacts.org it's a charity and totally independent, but there is a lot of interesting facts about who pays what! Or not as the case maybe!

Lancslass the £200 heating allowance was originally brought in instead of a pension increase that year so should be integrated into the state pension now. If that happened those who pay tax would be taxed on it. I don't agree with scrapping it as so many do need it.

annep I mentioned aftersun, which was included in the list in the paper, it was the expensive brand too.

I would still like to know why toothpaste and aftersun are giving on prescription and what the cost of a prescription is to the NHS in addition to the medication.

In the article they mentioned GPs doing this prescribing. Well in my experience over the last 15 years they are very diligent in telling me if something is cheaper OTC. There was also a poster up in the waiting rooms telling us to check if we really need the prescription and to accept that we will be asked to pay for the cheaper ones.

It might be locum doctors? I was once prescribed an OTC medicine by a locum who had not even checked contraindications to other meds I was taking.

It's a huge amount of money for items which should not be free.

I take too much paracetamol weekly to be able to buy it as it's restricted to two boxes each purchase. Yes it's cheap enough but I'm not mobile enough to traipse around to different shops weekly to stock up. My other pain meds don't work as well without them.
I buy my own antihistamines and I've found 'childs farm' moisturiser is excellent for my eczema (around £4 from supermarkets).
If we all did what we COULD afford to do to take the pressure off it may help.
I find it outrageous that the NHS are charged ridiculous amounts for soap etc for hospitals. There surely must be a better way to cut the costs of non medical supplies ??.

You cant buy high dose co codomal over the counter ,I get it prescribed ,after a long battle with a young locum GP who reckoned I just had to get used to my herniated disc and adjust my lifestyle to suit it....In her opinion I should give up work and stop looking after my GC .

Now I do agree we should all do what we can for our own health and to that end I have lost almost 2 stone ,however the disc still keeps me awake at nights so co codomol before bed lets me have the luxury of sleep .IF its available without prescription I will buy it,until then I will happily accept a FREE prescription for it .In cotland all prescriptions are free,as the cost of administering them would be more than giving them to everyone .

Annep in answer to your question.
My husband is over 80 years of age.
If he were living alone he would have got £300 but because I also get WFA as I am a pensioner but am not yet 80 years old, I get £100 and his £300 is reduced to £200.
In other words this household gets £300 whether I am here or not .
It was the £10 Christmas bonus I am in a way more concerned about.
To many folk like me ,it doesn't mean much but to some people it may mean a great deal.
I am saying,scrap it altogether and give it to those who need it.
Question.
Are there any contributors to this forum who are pensioners but who were either unaware of the £10 Christmas bonus(which I believe Ted Heath brought in when £10 was worth more than it is worth today ) or would be prepared to do without it seeing that they still get £100 at least for winter fuel?

My daughter is a GP and has been asked to prescribe Ultrasun sun cream. It is extremely expensive, around £20 or more per bottle. The patient wanted it for her child who needed hypoallergenic sun cream for her child. Apparently she told the patient, no, if you want that for your child you should buy it yourself, just as I buy it myself for my children. However, she said to me that the patient will simply go to one of the other GPS and probably get it prescribed.

It is mad the state provides at a higher cost, products available in shops. (And uses the costly time of doctors to arrange said provision). And from a different angle:- I had appalling stomach pains - gastroscopy, other investigations, prescribed omeprazole. No cause was discovered. Doctor happy, as the omeprazole did stop the pain. But is known to have serious long term effects (bone thinning - I am already beyond skinny). I researched and tried L Glutamine - a protein supplement - that works. No known bad effects. I pay for that (about £30 for nearly a years worth). - Should I use my and his time to go and report this to GP when it takes ages to get an appointment? And he could not use the info to prescribe it for me or anyone else?

I would have had to walk around with psoriasis all over my face if I hadnt got this sunblock. You have to be there to understand the physical and psychological effects and I'm speaking generally.. Some folk have sensitive gums and there is a special toothpaste for it. It seems there's a lot of varying opinions on this huge subject. I guess it boils down to trying to see the other persons perspective and a lot of common sense. Basically we are all against waste of resources.

Unless you know an individual's circumstances, you can't really comment on patients getting sunblock and toothpaste on the NHS.
I get my toothpaste on prescription, because of the impact of an underlying condition on my mouth and teeth.
You do need a prescription to obtain it.

If someone can afford to buy their own OTC meds, I think that's fine. I buy indigestion tablets at the supermarket, as it costs almost the same as having to pay for any parking at the doctors to get a prescription!

I don't understand why the NHS pays such huge sums for drugs, though. The NHS must buy massive amounts of medication so surely they should be able to negotiate a commensurately massive discount? That's what normally happens when you buy in bulk.

I use to buy my painkiller Codomal but when I was seeing the Dr he said he would prescribe it as he could prescribe stronger strength than you could buy, so I now have these on prescription. I also have a condition that gives me a very dry mouth resulting in a great deal of trouble with my teeth. The Dental Hospital prescribed a mouth wash to use for the condition and I needed to use it 4 times a day. A bottle costs well over £12 and lasts nearly a week. Not a sum I can afford. I save the NHS a great deal by looking after my health and keeping well. I am not on blood pressure tablets, over weight, a diabetic and I am a non smoker and drinker. Even after my knee replacement I managed an above average recovery without the help of physio so I don't feel bad about receiving free prescriptions for anything the Dr choses to prescribe.

When I recently attended my GP's surgery on a routine matter I asked him to examine a small patch of rough uneven skin which had developed on my forehead. He diagnosed a pre-cancerous condition, and prescribed some cream to eradicate it. I need to apply a very tiny dab, twice daily, for a month. My (free) prescription issued me with two large tubes of cream - enough to treat my whole face for several months. There is far too much waste in the NHS, and medications can't be returned even if the tube is sealed.
As for items that can be bought over the counter, it's a pity that our GPs can't just buy in a stock from the local supermarket, issue them directly to the patient and save a fortune on 'middleman' charges!
I agree that those who can afford it should buy their own. I'm not well-off, but wouldn't dream of asking my GP for cheap items that I could buy for myself.

I pay for my prescriptions and since an operation and other issues I now have eczema and very sensitive skin. I cannot keep up with the cost of buyingALL the preparations my skin needs so I buy a prepayment certificate and then my doctor prescribes bigger jars than I can buy for the same price.I do PAY for them, but I think I should be able to have this help since I don't smoke or cost the NHS in other ways and the skin condition is not of my own making. It's ok to say you would buy everything yourself but we are all not so fortunate.

annep the toothpaste in the article was the standard one we can all buy for about £1.

The point of the article was that all the items mentioned were things which are freely available and most of us would not consider them to be medicines at all.

I tried to buy some antibiotic cream for bites which I used to be able to buy off-prescription but it is no longer available. It didn't seem worth going to the GP to get a prescription for it, unless the infection spread, but I was surprised I couldn't buy it.

DH was prescribed some special shampoo but subsequently bought it from the chemist. However, that doesn't seem to be available any more so he may have to go back to the GP.

I think treatment for some skin conditions such as psoriasis should be available on prescription and I see no reason why not.
Although sometimes it is cheaper to buy items off-prescription, such as foods for coeliacs.

I agree, also, coeliac disease sufferers get food on prescription, why?? I have to buy my food and now all the supermarkets sell 'Free From'. Unnecessary expense for the NHS.

It wasn't easy to obtain much gf food until recently Fflaurie, so prescriptions were generally for bread or bags of flour to make your own.
Now there is so much available but it is more expensive.
However, as someone pointed out to me, he doesn't bother to get anything on prescription because it is charged per item!

Nonnie I certainly can't see a reason for prescribing something that costs £1 (unless for some reason its not available otc. )Seems ridiculous. Brilliant idea Greengran. I cant understand why it costs much more for painkillers prescribed. There is something wrong with the system. I'm in N Ireland. All our prescriptions are free and I feel that is a big mistake. Also frequently people get too much of whatever they are prescribed. such a waste. Its time something was done at a high level about all the waste. It cant be that difficult.

I think I will write to my MP and whoever is in charge of health now?? Maybe if enough people complain something will be done.

I was in the pharmacist when someone was collecting a prescription which included aspirin. I buy mine at 35p per box. The elder lady collecting her items was talking about her trip last week on Eurotunnel and seemed quite well off. I don't know how much the Nhs pay for prescription aspirin.

However, I decided that rather than see the doctor, I would remove some sebaceous warts myself. I bought Bazuka, but the box said not for necks, breast areas and many other places. I phoned the pharmacist who told me not to use it. I asked what I could use and she said I have to see my GP, so I will still be using gp time and possibly a free prescription. I want to use the Nhs as little as possible to lessen the strain on it.

Jevive there are times we have to use the doctor. Obviously we dont know everything and there are good reasons sometimes for prescribing.

I think unless you have psoriasis you don't understand how it affects your life. Most sufferers pay for all sorts of moisturisers and creams trying to find a cure. I would happily pay for something that would make it disappear! In most cases prescribed medication is sometimes the only answer.

Fflaurie, re the gluten free food. I knew a family where the father was diagnosed as having coeliac dishes and his wife blithely told us that as he gets free gluten free biscuits prescribed now the family just ate those too instead of buying biscuits! Made my blood boil!