OT - of interest to senior members

[Huge]

HM Treasury.

[docholliday93]

That reminds me of the attitude of storekeepers at some of the places I've worked - I remember a colleague having a stores requisition refused because 'we only have one left and we need to keep it in case someone needs it' - the fact that *he* needed it for an urgent project didn't seem to be suffic ient...

[polygonum]

Our PCT is wont to rap GPs over the knuckles for doing three month prescriptions. But they have reluctantly had to semi-back down in the light of the MHRA recommendation.

If that is a possibility (getting a Medex), then always get a special receipt from the pharmacy for everything between when you first think it and when you actually get it - or realise you won't. These special receipts can then be refunded by the Medex people. An ordinary till receipt will NOT do!

[polygonum]

What? Do they still accept cheques? Are they not DC/CC and Paypal only yet?

[David.WE.Roberts]

I go to the patient review meetings at our practice and they have stated that they have saved significant money by cutting the prescription maximum from 3 months to 2 months.

My feeling is that they could start with 1 month prescriptions, and work upwards with those with chronic conditions to 2,3 even 6 months of medication.

The assumption being that if you have been on the same medication for over a year and the general prognosis is that you aren't going to peg out soon from any known condition then you might as well have a long term supply.

I wonder, though, how much saving comes from the retire patients going to Spain for 3 months over winter and having to buy one month's worth of medication abroad. :-)

Cheers

Dave R

[Huge]

We're busily clearing my 95 y/o MILs house, since she's had to go into a care home. She was much the same - we've thrown away hundreds of poly bags, foil pie trays, "TV dinner" plastic trays and the like. She never threw *anything* away.

[David.WE.Roberts]

Might do if it was less specific - general nuclear power instead of one specific technology.

I now have to go and research that specific technology.

Not that much support so far.

Cheers

Dave R

[polygonum]

Or maybe relate the prescription length to the cost of the medicine?

As I say, in my case, £12 a year. Honestly, I can't believe it is worth doing even two prescriptions rather than one!

We do see (if you read Pulse!) lots of complaints over the work burden on doctors of handling repeat prescriptions. That could be reduced. :-)

[Chris J Dixon]

But my point is that, at least in England (don't know about elsewhere) they were when first introduced. They are now gradually aligning them, as they should have been from the start.

Chris

[David.WE.Roberts]

Now trying to check if this is the Professor John Middleton who gives environmental talks to the local U3A.

Just tried to set fire to some water but as there is no fracking around here it didn't work.

Cheers

Dave R

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Not round here. Problem in London is not so much the cost of fuel, but trying to park in the High Street, etc. And buses go down the High Street

- but not so likely to go to shopping malls. Of course if I have heavy shopping to bring home the car is the obvious choice.

So I tend to use which is most convenient - not much influenced by the cost of either.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

My house is far larger than I now need - but it is my investment to pay for decent care if I ever need it. Selling it and buying somewhere smaller then investing the balance doesn't seem like a good idea in these times.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

My mother was the exact opposite. Only things like that she kept were those which *would* be used. Glass jars for jam making, for example. She never bought any 'prepared' food either - except pastry. Always took a shopping bag so never had plastic ones.

Only thing like that I keep is those microwaveable plastic boxes a Chinese takeaway comes in. Better quality boxes for say screws, than other food containers.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Thorium reactors really need a joint effort over two decades from several competent nations.

Looks like we and the Chinese and Japanese might be sensible candidates.

But no way is it an instant fix.

Probably the best right now is some standard established technology like the Hitachi ABWR that is being proposed.

EDF and the EPWR are looking like they are expensive and buggy in terms of construction.

BUT the public wont be in favour until some spectacular grid failures die to renewable energy enable the engineers who know the score to be heard.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Never mind the bus passes: Id settle for a bus..

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If you live in a 2 million plus house remote from bus services, why not get one of the staff to drive you where you want to go?

[The Natural Philosopher]

because I don't.

[dennis]

8<

The exemption is based on the illness not the drug used. Unless its a very specific drug some people may have to pay if its not being used to treat one of the listed medical conditions.

You get your doctor to prescribe 3 months at a time. then you buy a three month certificate and get it dispensed. Then a week before it expires you get your next 3 months.

repeat 3 months later and you get all your regular medds for just over half the cost of a 12 month prepayment certificate.

[tim.....]

But London is different

They still give them out to peeps over 60 despite the rest of the country no longer being so entitled.

And you can use them on the underground/overground.

So it seems likely that if HMG introduced means tests London would not

tim

[dennis]

That's nothing..

when I was doing some work for the childrens hospital I collected a load of out of date stuff from a patient. there were dozens of bottles of the stuff and it cost about £300 a bottle.

More worrying is what were they giving to the kid who was supposed to be taking the medicine?