NHS Drug Prices

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Sarah
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NHS Drug Prices

Post by Sarah » Wed Dec 04 2019 2:19pm

Posted on Brexit topic Fri Jul 05, 2019 11:49 pm:
Sarah wrote:There was an informative report on Newsnight last night, highlighting how the USA is looking to vastly increase the prices of drugs sold to the NHS as part of any trade deal that the UK might seek to negotiate with them; a policy advocated by Donald Trump. The estimated extra cost for the NHS could reach £428 million per week.

It starts 20 minutes into the programme - available on iPlayer for 28 days:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m ... t-04072019
This story is finally starting to generate some interest during the General Election campaign, although defenders of the NHS don't seem to be using or perhaps even aware of the Trump clip that Newsnight broadcast.

Jeremy Corbyn claims that his "documents confirm the US is demanding the NHS is on the table in the trade talks" which is an attempt to represent the issue to the public and raise concern; however the "Not For Sale" chants are sending a message so wide of the mark they're pretty much addressing a different point.

The TUC just tweeted:
https://twitter.com/The_TUC/status/1202 ... 17186?s=20
Drug prices, UK vs USA

💉 Insulin
🇬🇧 £16.61 🇺🇸 £215.30
🔺 1300%

🥜 Epipen 300mg
🇬🇧 £52.90 🇺🇸 £523
🔺 1000%

💓 Statin 10mg
🇬🇧 £0.46 🇺🇸 £4.50
🔺 980%

Trump and his Big Pharma cronies want to put up drug prices in our NHS.

As we head for polling day, remember what’s at stake.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by expressman33 » Wed Dec 04 2019 4:00pm

Why do we have to buy Insulin from the USA ? https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/ne ... lin-brexit
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by Richard Frost » Wed Dec 04 2019 4:08pm

expressman33 wrote:
Wed Dec 04 2019 4:00pm
Why do we have to buy Insulin from the USA ? https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/ne ... lin-brexit
We don't. The above is a comparison of prices between the USA and the UK. There is no indication of where the UK currently gets its supplies of the mentioned drugs.

My understanding is that insulin mainly currently comes from countries in Europe.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by macliam » Wed Dec 04 2019 4:12pm

Isn't it odd that the land of free enterprise is actively campaigning against the ability of the NHS to negotiate bulk deals and/or the release of common drugs as generics, rather than licensed products. :eh:

The truth of the matter is that an increase in the cost of drugs will cause further pressure on an underfunded NHS, causing it to miss more "targets" and increasing the pressure for an increase in the number of services "outsourced" to private contractors. This is not privatisation of the NHS, it is worse - it is parasitizing the NHS to provide a market for multiple private contractors.... whilst the core system withers.

Last month I went to my local hospital for a CT Scan. It was provided by a private company from a mobile unit in the car park, because the NHS department are unable to meet the increased demand for scans to meet the Government's targets on cancer diagnosis, etc. without extra funding for staff or equipment. The operator was an NHS-trained nurse, now working as a private contractor. My wife went for physiotherapy and was treated by an NHS-trained therapist, working for a private company. Both of these treatments were "free at the point of use", but it doesn't take much thinking to realise that they were draining funds for NHS core services. In the same time period, my Dental Clinic announced that they were "no longer able" to take on NHS patients and changed its online site to focus on private dental treatment......

So, it may well be that "The NHS is not for sale"....... but the concept of the NHS is being changed to allow public funding to flow into the private sector. That's not a very good soundbite even if it's the truth...... so I don't blame any politician for trying to make the public aware of the clear and present danger to the NHS we all support.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by BeautifulSunshine » Wed Dec 04 2019 8:38pm

Intelligent conclusion Sarah.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by macliam » Fri Dec 06 2019 12:20pm

There's an interesting corollary to the UK drug-price situation. In Portugal, I was bitten by something nasty and had a very bad reaction. Although I am not a Portuguese citizen, my E111 allowed me to attend a clinic for €14, where the doctor prescribed strong antihistamines, and both oral antibiotics and an antibiotic cream. I went to the Pharmacy quite expecting a high bill - even 3 items on an NHS prescription would make you blink! (£27 now, I think) However, the cost was €15.50...... in a place where simple over the counter drugs cost a couple of euros at least. It seems the system there charges more for "common drugs" but discounts expensive ones - and ensures that Pharmacies carry out simple medical roles such as blood pressure monitoring, etc.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by pakefield » Fri Dec 06 2019 7:55pm

Our local hospital used to have an area where you could buy stuff like puzzle books and little things you might like for the patient or more likely yourself. And some hand made stuff. Across the way was a little shop where you could buy papers, magazines and sweets etc run by the RVS.

Now it is an M and S area and the volunteers are now surplus to requirements.

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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by macliam » Sat Dec 07 2019 12:23pm

pakefield wrote:
Fri Dec 06 2019 7:55pm
Our local hospital used to have an area where you could buy stuff like puzzle books and little things you might like for the patient or more likely yourself. And some hand made stuff. Across the way was a little shop where you could buy papers, magazines and sweets etc run by the RVS.

Now it is an M and S area and the volunteers are now surplus to requirements.
But as was said by the Tory spokesman this week "What's wrong with Costa serving the coffee in hospital? - you wouldn't want it served by doctors and nurses!!" Har, har - Prat. It just goes to show how far these guys are from "normal" experiences of the NHS and why it is never safe in their hands.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by BeautifulSunshine » Sat Dec 07 2019 5:48pm

macliam wrote:
Sat Dec 07 2019 12:23pm
pakefield wrote:
Fri Dec 06 2019 7:55pm
Our local hospital used to have an area where you could buy stuff like puzzle books and little things you might like for the patient or more likely yourself. And some hand made stuff. Across the way was a little shop where you could buy papers, magazines and sweets etc run by the RVS.

Now it is an M and S area and the volunteers are now surplus to requirements.
But as was said by the Tory spokesman this week "What's wrong with Costa serving the coffee in hospital? - you wouldn't want it served by doctors and nurses!!" Har, har - Prat. It just goes to show how far these guys are from "normal" experiences of the NHS and why it is never safe in their hands.
There is a parallel universe where the wealthy and elite see things differently to the working class.
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Re: NHS Drug Prices

Post by macliam » Sat Dec 07 2019 6:24pm

AAAlphaThunder wrote:
Sat Dec 07 2019 5:48pm
macliam wrote:
Sat Dec 07 2019 12:23pm
pakefield wrote:
Fri Dec 06 2019 7:55pm
Our local hospital used to have an area where you could buy stuff like puzzle books and little things you might like for the patient or more likely yourself. And some hand made stuff. Across the way was a little shop where you could buy papers, magazines and sweets etc run by the RVS.

Now it is an M and S area and the volunteers are now surplus to requirements.
But as was said by the Tory spokesman this week "What's wrong with Costa serving the coffee in hospital? - you wouldn't want it served by doctors and nurses!!" Har, har - Prat. It just goes to show how far these guys are from "normal" experiences of the NHS and why it is never safe in their hands.
There is a parallel universe where the wealthy and elite see things differently to the working class.
Unfortunately, it's not a parallel universe, it's the one we inhabit - and all too often these are the people who have power. :(
Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get me

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