Plain Talker Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I just want to have a bit of a gripe about postcode prescribing, and how darn unfair it is... A friend of mine, who doesn't live in Sheffield, has just had surgery for breast cancer. She's only the same age as me. (not that it would actually be any fairer if she was any other age) She now has to wait until her Health Authority decide whether they are going to pay for her to be treated with Heceptin, the medicine which has been proven to be effective in cases of breast cancer which are linked to the breast-cancer gene, "HER2". It sounds like the cancer may be Oestrogen-fed (?) and that they will have to put her through an early menopause, which, I suppose, has its swings and roundabouts. I'm just so darn annoyed that, if this lady needs the Herceptin, why the heck the Health Authority have to Hum and Haw, and drag their feet, deciding whether this potentially lifesaving drug can be prescribed, when they could be giving her the treatment, and kicking this dratted disease's backside in the early enough stage to make a big difference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Isn't Herceptin the hideously expensive one? Actually I'm all in favour of local choice. I think there should be more of it, and local councils should have more powers, and local NHS Authorities should get more rulings devolved to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I think that part of this needing to decide is making sure that your friend actually IS in the group which can be helped by Herceptin. If she's not in the group which are HER2 linked then Herceptin would be a very expensive waste of money and there are other medications which are much less expensive but not far off as effective which are available for patients who have oestrogen receptor positive tumours which are of other origins. I agree that there are medications which it would be very hard to stomach not being funded for, but at the same time the reason why they have to be used very carefully is because of their very high cost, so I think that the rules governing their use are necessary, even if they add an extra layer of faff and worry to the patient and their family. If one course for one patient costs the same as several hundred courses of another drug which is helpful for other patients then I think they'd be irresponsible if the Health Authority didn't consider each use and approve it only when it could actually be helpful. How would your friend feel if the £50,000 (or whatever cost- it's of that magnitude) spent on her drugs meant that the Health Authority couldn't afford to replace a broken MRI scanner that could diagnose brain tumours and so save the lives of the sufferers? It's not a nice thought, but the money does have to come from somewhere and when we're talking about such large sums for each course of drugs I think it's right to take that decision carefully. I hope that your friend gets lots of good news and effective treatments and is back to full health soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Isn't Herceptin the hideously expensive one? Actually I'm all in favour of local choice. I think there should be more of it, and local councils should have more powers, and local NHS Authorities should get more rulings devolved to them. Why should people get different standards of care in different areas? I presume your answer will be along the lines of people should have some ability to chose the costs in local taxation spent on health care, so a rich area with a Tory run council can reduce tax and standards of care because many of the residents will be able to afford private care. But that leaves poor people in the area suffering more and dying sooner than they would elsewhere. I suppose that would sharpen objections to Tory policies, but I don't see that minor benefit in political clarity offsetting the real damage to people's health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Why should people get different standards of care in different areas? People should have the right to make their own local decisions, is the point I was making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Sleeps Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 People should have the right to make their own local decisions Not on who gets to live or die. The core of the NHS is that it is free at the point of delivery, and available to everyone. The Local Health Authority should not be in a place to pick and choose who they treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Peaches* Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I also know someone going through something similar. She was going to fund it herself, but found out the company charges private cases a heck of a lot more than they charge the Health Authority Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Not on who gets to live or die. The core of the NHS is that it is free at the point of delivery, and available to everyone. The Local Health Authority should not be in a place to pick and choose who they treat. Given that the Health Authority cannot ever have an infinite supply of money, they have no choice but to make such decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daven Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Given that the Health Authority cannot ever have an infinite supply of money, they have no choice but to make such decisions. And decisions such as this will be more common in the future given the Governments pledge to cut spending. But, as Cameron repeats on a daily basis - 'we're all in this together'. Yeah, right David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Sleeps Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Given that the Health Authority cannot ever have an infinite supply of money, they have no choice but to make such decisions. There shouldn't be situations where people in Postcode A are being treat and people in Postcode B are not. Everyone is taxed the same and only some are rewarded. It isn't just. I agree there are funding issues, but to have such an unfair system makes no sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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