I have today received a letter from Lloyds Pharmacy offering me a FREE flu jab. Free? Well not quite, as Lloyds will be paid by the NHS (and thus by my and your contributions) and is part of the creeping privatisation of our NHS.
Historically, these injections have been provided by our GPs as part of their day-to-day service to the community. They too are paid by the NHS for giving the jabs but the money is recycled, subsidising their other services which they provide as part of their National Health contract and doesn’t just disappear into the bank account of a faceless, unaccountable, multi-national company.
Did you know that your local GP has to purchase in advance, on the open market, the flu jabs for the season? They do this based on the make-up of their patients and historic patterns of demand. The jabs are not on a ‘use or return basis’, so any unused jabs as a result of patients using other providers are wasted, causing a financial loss to the practice as well as a loss of income, making less money available for subsidising their other services. Don’t forget also that your GP will probably know you and your health problems and has your medical records to hand.
I declare an interest as my daughter is an ordinary GP (in her surgery or at NHS meetings 7am to 9 pm four days a week, on her computer or on the phone at home the other three days) but I know the battle beginning to rage between funding for the NHS and commercial enterprises. If you truly value our NHS and your surgery, please accept and have your 'flu jabs at your surgery - a simple way to help sustain them.
Lloyds is a German company, Celesio, which in turn is owned by a huge American corporation, McKesson Corp. Incidentally, Boots is now owned by Walgrens, another huge American company, so every time you accept a vaccination at anywhere but your local GP's surgery, you are putting a nail into their coffin and boosting an overseas large commercial organisation.
These large US based conglomerates are playing on the vulnerability of the NHS at the moment; ‘pay extra for immediate treatment’, offering to keep your repeat prescription records and automatically dispensing your prescriptions instead of you using your local pharmacy. By doing so you are paving the way for us to be told that we like and are happy with the 'new normal' so don't need the NHS.
Another example of creeping privatisation is that of ear wax removal which used to be undertaken at your local GP surgery. The Government has removed it from their treatment list so it’s a quick £30 - £50 elsewhere. Where will it end?
Having your ‘flu jab at your local surgery when invited to do so is a simple way to help yourself and your surgery.
Unless we support our local surgeries and chemists shops, I suggest that we are on a slippery downward path to privatisation.
