I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: JW77 on October 29, 2019, 06:09:33 AM
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From Centre for Sustainable Healthcare UK ONLY Petition.
https://www.change.org/p/matthew-hancock-mp-stop-the-waste-of-expensive-prescription-medicines?recruiter=266552976&recruited_by_id=6a9ffb80-d5f9-11e4-9929-6310b30a7e81&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard
"To stop the waste of NHS prescribed medication and equipment by (a) a more responsible approach to usage of medicines by everyone from GPs, patients, Nursing Homes etc and (2) recycling in the U.K. or donating to needy countries
Every day thousands of pounds of prescription medicine is wasted. An estimate in 2015 was wastage worth £300 million and this figure has almost certainly gone up. This is because once a batch of medication has been prescribed for an individual, any unused medicine, even if the packet or bottle has not been opened, cannot be used for another patient. I have a relative who has a chronic illness and has been on regular medication for a long time. Each time his medication is amended - i.e either the dosage is changed or medication itself is altered - any pills remaining from his previous prescription have to be handed back to the Pharmacist to be destroyed. I am also aware that sadly when a person passes away any unused medication has to be similarly disposed off. The same applies to equipment - particularly mobility aids. The NHS has been struggling with funding for years and there also many countries around the world where seriously ill people cannot afford the medication they need - that is presuming the medication is available to them in the first place. Items like mobility aids would also be very gratefully received in some countries. I am calling on Matt Hancock to look into ways of stopping this terrible waste. Either there should be some way of reusing any untouched and in date medicines in this country or, alternatively, donating it to aid agencies or health organisations for the benefit of our less fortunate brothers and sisters all around the world. I am adding this detail to my petition, on the 23rd of May, (1) to confirm that savings should be made by monitoring dispensing and usage of prescription medicines more carefully and (2) to clarify that I am not asking for all unused medication to be recycled as clearly there are ethical, quality and liability considerations, especially where it is not possible to be sure these medicines have been stored properly. However, when (a) medication has been wrongly dispensed by the Pharmacy and is returned immediately (which happens more often then we may think (b) when it is returned promptly due to, for example, changes in Prescription and (c) where medication is kept in controlled conditions in Care Homes, Hospitals etc., there should be no reason why they cannot be re-used. "
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From Centre for Sustainable Healthcare UK ONLY Petition.
https://www.change.org/p/matthew-hancock-mp-stop-the-waste-of-expensive-prescription-medicines?recruiter=266552976&recruited_by_id=6a9ffb80-d5f9-11e4-9929-6310b30a7e81&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard
"To stop the waste of NHS prescribed medication and equipment by (a) a more responsible approach to usage of medicines by everyone from GPs, patients, Nursing Homes etc and (2) recycling in the U.K. or donating to needy countries
Every day thousands of pounds of prescription medicine is wasted. An estimate in 2015 was wastage worth £300 million and this figure has almost certainly gone up. This is because once a batch of medication has been prescribed for an individual, any unused medicine, even if the packet or bottle has not been opened, cannot be used for another patient. I have a relative who has a chronic illness and has been on regular medication for a long time. Each time his medication is amended - i.e either the dosage is changed or medication itself is altered - any pills remaining from his previous prescription have to be handed back to the Pharmacist to be destroyed. I am also aware that sadly when a person passes away any unused medication has to be similarly disposed off. The same applies to equipment - particularly mobility aids. The NHS has been struggling with funding for years and there also many countries around the world where seriously ill people cannot afford the medication they need - that is presuming the medication is available to them in the first place. Items like mobility aids would also be very gratefully received in some countries. I am calling on Matt Hancock to look into ways of stopping this terrible waste. Either there should be some way of reusing any untouched and in date medicines in this country or, alternatively, donating it to aid agencies or health organisations for the benefit of our less fortunate brothers and sisters all around the world. I am adding this detail to my petition, on the 23rd of May, (1) to confirm that savings should be made by monitoring dispensing and usage of prescription medicines more carefully and (2) to clarify that I am not asking for all unused medication to be recycled as clearly there are ethical, quality and liability considerations, especially where it is not possible to be sure these medicines have been stored properly. However, when (a) medication has been wrongly dispensed by the Pharmacy and is returned immediately (which happens more often then we may think (b) when it is returned promptly due to, for example, changes in Prescription and (c) where medication is kept in controlled conditions in Care Homes, Hospitals etc., there should be no reason why they cannot be re-used. "
Hello JW,
I certainly struggle to believe ... Why ? ... Mainly because EVERYONE in the UK knows how much their daily, most necessary medication costs ...
... And hopefully this is not a new campaign to prepare most vulnerable patients into paying huge amounts of money for their essential medication in the not too distant future ? :secret;
Best wishes from Kristina. :grouphug;
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P.S. ... Many patients have to wait for an appointment with their doctor/GP/medical specialist for about 4 - 6 weeks, if they are lucky .... and then they throw away the prescribed medication after having had to wait so long for an appointment ?
Let's be reasonable, please ...
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Signed, thanx JW77.
And Kristina I think this petition is 1. About time, 2. Could save a lot of money to the NHS so it can keep doing what it does at the moment.
I’ve received lots of times the wrong medication. Brought it back to the pharmacy whom I received it from. Just to find it ‘will be destroyed’ later. Now I have my doubts with that, as in The Netherlands (40 Yrs ago when I lived there, and their version of NHS still existed, it was known that those medicines were sold again, and again as the their NHS paid the private Pharmacies per item dispensed)
Love, Cas
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Signed, thanx JW77.
And Kristina I think this petition is 1. About time, 2. Could save a lot of money to the NHS so it can keep doing what it does at the moment.
I’ve received lots of times the wrong medication. Brought it back to the pharmacy whom I received it from. Just to find it ‘will be destroyed’ later. Now I have my doubts with that, as in The Netherlands (40 Yrs ago when I lived there, and their version of NHS still existed, it was known that those medicines were sold again, and again as the their NHS paid the private Pharmacies per item dispensed)
Love, Cas
Hello Cassandra, I have enquired at one of our local pharmacists and they told me, that first of all, they hardly get any medication returned to them and if/when and it is still valid etc., they forward it immediately to charities like the Red Cross etc., who forward it to third-world-countries.
I have been wondering whether JW's original question might be connected to our impending General Election, which is about to take place in December 2019 ? ?
One wonders, since "our" Conservative Party under Multimillionaire Boris Johnson intend to eventually privatize our current NHS-Health System (... Multimillionaires like Boris Johnson etc. can easily pay, of course, but the rest of the population could not ... ), whereas the Labour-Party and also the Liberals wish to continue with our current very British, very civilized and rather democratic Health System?
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@Kristina
The campaign/petition comes from The Network for Sustainable Healthcare (which in all realty is about 11 really keen medical professionals and those involved aiming towards a greener/less waste, better for patients, and the planet methodology of healthcare from many many specialities. I know some were down in London joining in with XR.
On the Petition, a few examples include lack of communication between patients and medics, or visa versa resulting in buildups of stock of several 100's in some cases.
Its a very toxic election. Boris's relationship with Trump is terrifying, both remind me of the bond villain Goldfinger ''He Loves Only Gold' and look the part! Ready to destroy a country for his own power trip.
The NHS has been trickle privatised, from the formation of trusts, to tendering catering, transport, private prescription companies, GP CCG's and GP groups run by 'Virgin Health' and other companies.
Not yet relying on food banks here, but close, for a quid we're collecting supermarket 'waste' once a week from the local community centre, where volunteers have gone out to collect it from the supermarkets.. Perfectly good food that would otherwise be incinerated
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@Kristina
The campaign/petition comes from The Network for Sustainable Healthcare (which in all realty is about 11 really keen medical professionals and those involved aiming towards a greener/less waste, better for patients, and the planet methodology of healthcare from many many specialities. I know some were down in London joining in with XR.
On the Petition, a few examples include lack of communication between patients and medics, or visa versa resulting in buildups of stock of several 100's in some cases.
Its a very toxic election. Boris's relationship with Trump is terrifying, both remind me of the bond villain Goldfinger ''He Loves Only Gold' and look the part! Ready to destroy a country for his own power trip.
The NHS has been trickle privatised, from the formation of trusts, to tendering catering, transport, private prescription companies, GP CCG's and GP groups run by 'Virgin Health' and other companies.
Not yet relying on food banks here, but close, for a quid we're collecting supermarket 'waste' once a week from the local community centre, where volunteers have gone out to collect it from the supermarkets.. Perfectly good food that would otherwise be incinerated
Thanks for your kind letter and I still have some difficulties to understand what "The Network for Sustainable Healthcare" is all about? Of course, some of the issues i.e. aiming towards a greener/less waste, better for patients, and the planet methodology of healthcare from many many specialities are noble thoughts, but how can a lack of communication between patients and medics, or visa versa resulting in buildups of stock of several 100's in some cases be possible? For example, every time I need a prescription, I inform the surgery what is needed, they check it up on their computer and tell me when the prescription is ready etc. Where then does a build-up of medication come into the picture?
I am not sure this election is going to be toxic? After all, it sounds like the same old story repeating itself ... ?
Mind you, I very much hope the NHS is going to remain our beloved NHS which has helped to save my life on several occasions and I am forever grateful !
It is very kind of you to work voluntarily by assisting food-banks, which help so many people ! I did not know that the food would otherwise be incinerated and that would be a terrible waste when so many needy and homeless people need all this help so urgently !
Take great care and best wishes from Kristina. :grouphug;
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P.S. As of 8 th May 2019 : Across NHS hospital community and primary care settings, there are around 150,000 doctors in total and over 320,000 nurses and midwives.
Furthermore, as a chart shows, the level of cover of GPs varies across the UK and across the regions of England.
How come that of all these 150,000 NHS-doctors there are only 11 (eleven) NHS-GP/doctors within the "Network for Sustainable Healthcare" who want to put forward this particular petition ?
And if, as you say, there is so much waste of medication etc., how come that there are only 11 (eleven) NHS doctors concerned?
And if there is a lack of communication between doctors and patients, could it be that these patients don't speak the language ?
Whilst thinking about it : I honestly can't imagine that NHS-GP's and NHS-doctors prescribe medications to NHS-patients despite the fact that these medications are no longer needed?
:sos;
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P.S. As of 8 th May 2019 : Across NHS hospital community and primary care settings, there are around 150,000 doctors in total and over 320,000 nurses and midwives.
Furthermore, as a chart shows, the level of cover of GPs varies across the UK and across the regions of England.
How come that of all these 150,000 NHS-doctors there are only 11 (eleven) NHS-GP/doctors within the "Network for Sustainable Healthcare" who want to put forward this particular petition ?
And if, as you say, there is so much waste of medication etc., how come that there are only 11 (eleven) NHS doctors concerned?
And if there is a lack of communication between doctors and patients, could it be that these patients don't speak the language ?
Whilst thinking about it : I honestly can't imagine that NHS-GP's and NHS-doctors prescribe medications to NHS-patients despite the fact that these medications are no longer needed?
:sos;
11 medics LEAD the network, hopefully others ARE interested.
If you've ever dealt with NHS paperwork over a long period of time, I can't believe you've not?
Been informed of a medication change AFTER collecting a prescription.
Found your GP doesn't HAVE the change in medication/dose despite it being sent out by a consultant/other department.
Chemist making a mistake, misreading a script, and over prescribing (I've had this twice) once for Tramadol and once for NeoRecormon.. (Actually well over 6000 quids worth!\0
Multiply these instances by all the people receiving medications and thats quite a lot of tablets/ injections. In the last 6 months I've accidentally picked up/been dispensed with someone elses meds!
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Hello and I do hope "things" are going to improve for you soon !
... I always check up on my prescription and my GP always receives the correspondence from the hospital/specialist etc. and whenever any of my medication is going to be changed or reduced etc., I am the first one to be informed about it and so is my GP.
Naturally I always use the same Chemist and they know about my allergies etc. and whenever I collect my medication, they always check it up with me and we always make sure everything is alright, so that no mistake could have happened.
I wish you good luck and all the best wishes from Kristina. :grouphug;