General Chat

How old is 'elderly'?
Some people are old before their time, others' despite their age in years are veritable spring chickens!
Are drug addicts still to get their free doses of methadone?
It may be useful, and save a lot of money if some doctors, upon finding a drug doesn't work, then stop that drug and try something else, instead of just giving another drug as well, then having to give more drugs to counteract the side effects of so many drugs!!

I have a friend who is on 3 drugs for high blood pressure, and 3 for anxiety! Two of these are because of side effects.

I have high blood pressure and am on one drug. Not an ACE inhibitor, despite the government wanting these to be used, because my body doesn't like it and I refuse to take counteracting drugs.

...as for everyone over a certain age being put on statins - don't get me started!!....

Whatever happened to equality!! :-S Surely denial to the elderly would be ageism. Some older people live a far healthier lifestyle than the young and could outlive them anyway.

I agree Sharron, so won't be shooting you down in flames. I would think differently if we had a shortage of people on this cramped island but we don't. Have they stopped the NHS tourism yet? How ridiculous was that. Yes, how can 'glamour' breast augmentation on the NHS be justified?

I have a great deal of sympathy for any couple who, as a result of medical conditions, are having problems trying to have a child - and personally I am not against such couples having IVF treatment on the NHS.

The NICE guidelines for England, although implementation between different health areas varies, state that up to three cycles of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) should be available to:

Women aged 23 - 39

Those who have an identifiable cause of infertility such as an absence of sperm, or blocked fallopian tubes.

Those who have had more than three years of fertility problem.

And I am sure, that if they are eligible for NHS funded treatment, they have to pay normal prescription charges for their fertility drugs unless they are exempt from paying prescription charges.

how can it be so when money in aid sent abroad is spent on building luxury homes and explained that it gives employment it makes me so cross

if it was used for drugs etc that would not be so bad
but it would be of better use here

sally w <3

Perhaps if our Government concentrated on the people who pay there wages ( and inflated expenses) by not giving so much of our cash to other Countries in so called Aid we may be able to have what is needed here First. It might also help if the Health Tourists were made to pay before getting treatment here (As in other Countries) Also I agree with Sharron,its not a divine right to have children sad though it may be,it should,nt be funded by the "Health Service" :-|

This brings back memories of the health policies of the late 1980's and early 1990's, in 1993 I had a heart bypass operation, and I can recall my heart surgeon standing at the side of my bed telling me how lucky I was.

He was only allocated a limited number of operating theatre slots for these operations, and when deciding who got the slot that I got, he had to choose between a guy aged 64, a guy aged 72, and myself aged 55, on the basis of who would gain most from having the operation.

As a result of the pressures he was under to make such decisions he was planning to leave the NHS, he said he did not join the NHS to decide who lived or died.

The 72 year old guy died in the bed next to me two days after my operation :-(

there's a rumour going around in Oz that people who get sick a lot will have to pay more for health insurance!

how ridiculous.

Do the people who don't get sick get a discount?

:-|

I am sure that everybody will shoot me down on this and be able to quote all sorts of heart rending stories to add ammunition but I wonder if infertility is something the NHS should be involved in.

Joins Kitty on soapbox.

Who are these people to decide how long I should live, or whether I should suffer? I wonder if it occurs to them that their lives do not stand still? Or do they think by the time they are old somebody will come along and reverse the decision?

Yes, cut down the unnecessary operations given for cosmetic reasons.

A family member of mine, who stuffs her face with junk food and refuses to exercise....has just had her stomach stapled on the NHS :-|

She was telling all and sundry that she can liquidise her burgers and chips so she can still enjoy her food.....I walked away before I completely lost my temper with her.

In my opinion everyone should be offered life prolonging drugs, to me it is bordering on legalised euthanasia to allow people to die just because of their age.

*falls off soapbox* :-)

Just because we're old, does that make us senile, febrile, dumb?

Far from it! Life is a sponge and as we progress, we learn; learn what to retain, learn what to discard, to our advantage. But in today's world, our accumulated and collective knowledge is not wanted.

In recent days there have been reports in various newspapers that the government is carrying out a consultation process which could see changes to who should receive new life saving drugs and one of the issues they are alleged to be considering is restricting the prescribing of these new drugs to younger people as they will contribute more to society, from the benefit of these drugs, than older people would contribute.

From the time of the changes introduced under Margaret Thatcher up until this moment in time, it appears that successive governments of all persuasions, have decided that if you have worked hard all your life, paid your taxes, then retired, that you have outlived your usefulness to society you should not get drugs or treatments that could benefit or prolong your life.

This rationing has been going on for years and this to me, it is euthanasia by the back door, maybe when we have outlived our useful the government should just prescribe a free trip to Switzerland .

The NHS may not have a bottomless pit, having said that, it seems it has no problems finding funds for numerous cosmetic procedures, for example, if your breasts are to big or to small you will get treatment on the NHS.

Perhaps if they concentrated on reducing the number of unnecessary procedures the NHS regularly carries out, and reducing the number of individuals running about with clipboards, this rationing of treatment could be substantially reduced.

Should life prolonging drugs and treatments be denied to elderly people?