An odd combination I know, but today’s topics deserve my opinion, as the first item will certainly cause controversy.
Paracetamol – Well anything “Over The Counter” Really
I read in the news today that in an effort to cut the costs of the NHS they are planning to reduce prescribing over the counter remedies, gluten free food and travel vaccinations. Many people are jumping on the bandwagon and protesting, but lets examine the facts:
To prescribe over the counter painkillers, for those who get free prescriptions costs the NHS £87m per year or on average £4 per pack – source Daily Mail
To buy a pack of Paracetamol or Ibuprofen from supermarkets costs as little as 16p and that cost is affordable to everyone!
The savings don’t end there as many people make a GP appointment for sniffles or headaches, and some even block up A&E departments, where the costs can run into £100s and cause critically ill people to suffer unecessarily by putting a strain on resources.
Flu and travel vaccinations cost as little as £5 each and can be given by qualified pharmacists at Chemists, which saves the cost of a visit to your GP’s nurse for a costly 10 minute appointment for something that takes seconds to administer.
Imagine the £100millions saved on the NHS – this is not the Government forcing cutbacks, just common sense. However, I do not condone what this current Tory government are doing to break the NHS.
And finally..one of my many soapbox topics..
Illegal Flytipping
In one of the local Facebook groups today I saw that someone paid a person £20 to take their rubbish away to the local tip, only to find it posted on Facebook on the side of a country road. Firstly, fly-tipping is illegal and secondly paying someone to do a job that they have not done is fraud and finally, the embarrassment of seeing YOUR rubbish dumped by the side of a road.
A couple of months back I got mentioned in the local newspaper for a collection of white goods which I photographed being illegally dumped in the countryside, done by another unlicensed “man with a van”, no doubt for money.
I understand it costs quite a bit to set up as a proper licensed “scrap man”, and I would have no problem paying for said person to properly dispose of goods that I couldn’t get rid of, but these people need stopping fast and more needs to be done to get proper prosecutions for illegal flytipping.
Thats it..rant over, now to cook myself some tea (or dinner for the posh folk 🙂 )
