Do you get your shampoo from the Dr.?

Lancslass* people living alone get £200 wfa. Those living together get £100 each. correct me if I'm wrong. I too think benefits should be means tested but set at a high starting point. Its always set too low. Small private pensions are worthless. Those very well off pensioners should still pay NHS contributions. I include my husband. He agrees.

Legs54 you are using the NHS correctly. And really we have all paid to be looked after I only pay for my own because the NHS is underfunded and I can. Someone else nentioned sun cream on script. If I use anything on my face that's not hypoallergenic psoriasis flares up. Its super expensive compared to ordinary creams. As I say I can buy it now. Some people have really bad skin problems and can't afford it. Psoriasis is an awful thing to live with if you have it bad. Pamela I know I am getting off topic but you mentioned diet? And thank you Kate will investigate moisturiser.

I also had day surgery earlier this year and was given this body wash. My pre - op medical was literally the day before my op as they had to wait for the results of a test to be finalised before I was given the go ahead. When I asked the nurse why I could,nt use ordinary shower wash that I used every day she said that as I had been hospitalised within the previous six months this was routine procedure to eliminate the risk of getting MRSA.

Of course we love our NHS.

So much that we buy whatever toiletries we need instead of milking the system.

Also we will visit our pharmacist instead of going to A&E for first aid.

May I expand this debate please?
As a Pensioner,not only do I get "coal" money at Christmas,I also get £10 Christmas bonus which is put into my Bank Account.
Some of my friends had not noticed that they got that.
My question is
Why do my husband and I both get the heating allowance and why does the Government not scrap the £10 Christmas Bonus?
Answer-because each Party is scared of losing votes if they cut this money in any way.
Before anyone tells me that I could give the money to Charity,I already do but we shouldn't both be given heating money and instead of everyone being given £10 ,more could be given to those who need it.
The heating money should be paid direct to the Company which provides the gas or electricity to heat one's home.

Our doctor always tells us if something is more cheaply available off presciption and where to get it. I had thought that getting a prescription and paying over the odds was helping the NHS out and subsidising dearer drugs- but apparently I was wrong - One thing he wanted me to try only cost £1.35 from amazon - previously I would have accepted the prescription and looked on the excess as a donation - now I accept the post it note and go shopping. On the painkiller side - I have a sister who is housebound with arthritis and it would be really useful if the NHS could issue medical exemption cards so we could bulk buy the cheap paracetamol and Ibuprofen she has to take to supplement her other meds. At the moment it involves a couple of us going to a couple of shops to get enough for a few weeks and you feel a bit shady doing it. If they issued cards relatives and carers could get it all in one hit. Though to be honest I am not sure whether reducing the number you could buy in one go had any beneficial affect anyway - If they check and it didn't, they could lift the restriction and they wouldn't need to bother with a medical exemption.

The NHS is not the bottomless pit everyone seems to think it is, or would like it to be. It is being used for things it was not initially set up to do. Treat serious illness. My mum had psoriasis in her scalp, as a child, the local grocer mixed a salve of goose grease and ulpher. It got rid of it.

I know a wealthy person who gets Asprin codeine etc. from GP. She doesn't even have a British Nationality!!!

Howcome, I am also due for day surgery soon, and have been given this body wash. The instructions say to use it every day, for four days before surgery, and use it to wash your hair, every other day. You also have to use fresh towels each and every day!!! and fresh clothes every day. Whilst I can manage that, and do, with the clothes, but not fresh towels every day, there may be many who just can't. I do wonder how many follow the printed instructions, to the letter???

Each prescription costs money and if the items are cheaper OTC they should be bought that way. We are all responsible for looking after our health or ill health and that includes medications we can afford even if it means doing without a luxury.
Why I'm saying this is I have a chronic illness and I only accept the serious medications (heart, pain, BP) on the NHS. The others I buy myself and they are cheaper OTC. My GP and consultants always ask me to list the "other" supplements etc I take, some which were previously prescribed, things like Ubiquinol which is expensive. The NHS isn't freebee centre and GPs are advised to speak to patients who need medication that is available OTC.
Many years ago it was possible to have even basic medical box medication including cotton wool on prescription but all that stopped. GP prescribing is constantly monitored and checked they are not using the NHS to fill medicine boxes.
I cannot imagine why shampoo and toothpaste is prescribed, that really is something that must be investigated.

Lesley C. Why be embarrassed? Your GP was doing his job ensuring H was to be pain free. Its up to H whether he repeats the box or buys in smaller quantities.

What we all seem to share in this thread is gratitude for what the NHS has done for us or our families. We also probably all recognise it has been a world-leading and, up to a point, an efficient and cost-effective service, providing free treatment at the point of need. It is already paid for via the means-testing exercise of taxation. The administrative cost of working out who should get free prescriptions is also colossal. I think people offering to pay for medication that they could get on prescription is altruistic and completely understandable, but may play into the hands of those in UK government who want to further privatise health care.
In Scotland, prescriptions are free and tax has been amended so that many will pay less and those earning over around £33000 will pay a little more. This, to me, is the fairest way to manage resources.
Unfortunately, the UK government seems determined to disband the NHS as evidenced by the introduction of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act and the further opening up of NHS contracts to the private sector ( in which many MPs and peers have a direct financial interest). We are heading for an American approach and now, in the light of Brexit, potentially having to procure more pharmaceuticals and services from USA as well. Sorry - I did not set out to make this political but am extremely worried that the NHS will very soon not exist for my children and grandchildren and the day may come when they have to choose between life-saving treatment or bankruptcy. We are fighting this in Scotland but have, unfortunately, limited powers to do so.

Many pharmacies deliver prescriptions to those people unable to get out. If they can't get out, I wonder who does their shopping?

My very wealthy friend gets all her bread,flour etc gluten free on free prescription.

Lupatria I totally understand where you are coming from as I have similar issues. In addition I am allergic/intolerant to the fillers used to hold the medication in many of those items available over the counter so just cannot use them.

Whilst some better off people are being very thoughtless in their use of the NHS most are not and the fingers are pointing in the wrong direction and should be pointing instead at those who are literally making a killing out of us all.
I find it extraordinarily that the usual quantity discounts are not made available to our NHS. I was told by one pharmacist that the NHS is charged for just one particlar tablet what it would cost the patient OTC for a supply for a whole month. Undoubtedly this will be repeated over a vast array of medications. I think it is a cynical ploy by big pharma to wring as much money as they can out of us all and we should be campaigning for an end to this appalling practice.

I was in Lloyds pharmacy last week and a lady, who was without her glasses, asked if I could help her find tablets for acid reflux. We found thc aisle and I went through the pricing with her. Gaviscon and a dozen others. I found some priced at £1.45 for a pack of 12 which had exactly the same amounts of active ingredients as another make of proton pump inhibitor, the name of which escapes me but begins with N. Those were £11.95 for 12.
She finally said that she'd get a prescription from her doctor.
When it was my turn to pay for purchases, I asked how much proton pump inhibitors cost to the NHS as they're not, apparently, the same brands as those sold in shops although they have the same strengths of active ingredients. I was told it was double the price of the 'N' medication under a different brand name. So there we are. A silly woman asking her doc for tablets costing £24 when she could have bought another brand for £1.45 and yes, I checked the ingredients online just to satisfy my curiosity. Some people have no sense.

Also lets remember what is affordable to some one today might not be tomorrow.
I don't think its taking offense to post an alternative view of an opinion, its just having the right to have our own.

The reason for pain killer prescriptions is probably more to do with the availability of painkillers over the counter. I use paracetamol and cocodamol for joint and muscle pain, in a bad patch I can run out of painkillers very quickly because I am only allowed to buy the equivalent of 32 paracetamol tablets at a time. Also I have to have a lecture about addiction every time I buy cocodamol. The GP offered to give me a prescription for a larger amount but I just try to remember to buy paracetamols before I need them.

I've had all sorts of things for eczema and psoriasis, a lot of things don't work, and sometimes make it worse, so I have to abandon them before I've had my money's worth. I used to buy an annual 'season ticket' so I could afford the frequent changes of product. I don't feel at all guilty getting free prescriptions as I've paid in all my working life and my DH is still paying in!

I recently had a day surgery under the nhs and prior to my appointment was prescribed an ant bac body wash to use in the shower before attending. When I asked why I was told everyone is given a bottle to ensure they can arrive at the hospital clean enough for surgery - they cost £2 each!! As I said if they cannot afford soap they are unlikely to be able to afford a hot shower and it would be better to have everyone shower in the stuff on arrival from an ecconomy sized bottle. There was a shower in the changing room where you change from day clothes to surgery gown.

Im a pensioner and also have a chronic pain illness and am prescribed paracetamol 100 at a time. I could pay for them but i would only be able to buy 32 at a time, which is difficult if im housebound. I think that on the whole people should buy them very cheaply and GPs are hopefully becoming more discerning.

Seems the only way around it is going back to means testing,
think it came down to some one in authority going around your home and assessing whether you owned more than the necessities of life.. a bed a chair a pan etc, wonder how much that would cost?

It's a shame that posters take offense when someone sugests something like that. What people don't realise is that there is no pot marked "grandMattie" or anyone else. Money goes to those who need it when they do. I appreciate that many people are unable to afford this and that, or are housebound and can't get to the pharmacy/supermarket for their needs.
What was suggested was that if one can afford it, it is incumbent upon us to be altruistic and purchase one's own OTC stuff, leaving the NHS with more money to spend on the more needy or machines, etc.
Nothing more nothing less - it certainly doesn't seem, to me IMHO, that there was any degree of criticism of the OP.

quizqueen it is a little more complex than that.. the more people the more income (via tax) so should be proportionate. Unemployment, we are told is low atm , though I agree aging population is larger now.

What has also impacted is the development of treatments, greater technology, expensive pharmaceuticals ..owned by big businesses focussed only on profit and our ever increasing expectation that there is a cure for everything and that we must delay death as long as possible. All this makes costs rise. There is always room, in any business or organisation, to make things more efficient and I guess the NHS is no different. However even that is not popular & costs. My DD1 was recently involved in an AHA consultation, in the Kent area, to improve the stroke services. Of course people wanted the department nearest their home to be the one that became the specialist centre, it cost money to hold meetings, manage all the information and responses etc etc. Even being cost efficient and improving quality has a cost!

I agree that creams, body wash etc for severe skin problems should be provided. I'm a little puzzled as to why toothpaste should be on the NHS though.

i am disabled and virtually housebound. i take paracetamol and ibuprufen and have them on a repeat prescription.
while i could afford to pay for these from a chemist or supermarket i am not able to get to one of them every two days as i can't easily leave the house.
i use an online pharmacy for my medication (i take other medication as well as paracetamol and ibuprofen) so it is just easier for me to have it all delivered - i have 400 paracetamol and 160 ibuprifen delivered when i request it - i do not stockpile these (they are monitored by gp and pharmacy) neither do i share my medication.
i live on my pensions and dla and am entitled to free medication as i am over 60 - i look on it as a blessing.
i also take hayfever tablets and find the asda one-a-day tablets are affordable - and they work so i recommend these to my friends and family. they are non-drowsy (unlike any i've been prescribed) and come in packets of 30 for around £6. fairly affordable really for the months i take them (they also help with the itching i get from psoriasis).
this friday i am going into hospital for a knee replacement op so i know that in the near future i won't need the amount of paracetamol and ibuprofen i have been taking so will cancel these items on my repeat prescription - and my repeat for the fentanyl pain patches i have also been prescribed.
but i thank goodness that i have been able to get the paracetamol and ibuprofen on prescription as i couldn't have afforded these if i had to buy them myself.

This is an interesting topic as to contributing to what one 'can afford' and what one feels they have already paid for. I have a friend who goes on about bus passes being withdrawn from those who 'can afford' them. I tell her use of any of these facilities is not obligatory but she keeps on presenting it. Interesting. I do agree that commodities which can only be accessed by prescription should be liberally given to those in need. Who are we to assess who 'can afford' anything? Up to the individual to make that decision and either contribute or decline accordingly methinks.