Tuesday 29th March 2016

Post by **refitman** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 7:10 am

Morning all.

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 7:12 am

A fair article raising the issues around ESA by Allegra Stratton:

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016 ... eard-about" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 7:24 am

They really should come clean to the public on just what Universal Credit might mean to them. If people are rhinking it is a like for like alternative to tax credits then they are in for a shock.

And is this the way for government to make decisions that affect millions of lives?

.Jonathan Portes, an economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research thinktank, said the issue was a point of tension between DWP and the Treasury. “The deal that Iain Duncan Smith struck with George Osborne was in return for cuts to disability benefit he would get his shiny new toy – universal credit was his shiny toy,” he told the Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016 ... th-welfare" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 7:31 am

Good morning all. Hope the stormy weather has settled for all, it is much calmer here, children are still at home so the traffic is light too, it is quiet and I am enjoying it.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 8:09 am

With respect, seeingclearly, I doubt the ghastly Allegra would write like that - it's Amelia Gentleman....
Who, apropos of nothing, is married to one Jo Johnson. I can imagine their dinner conversations being a bit awkward.

It's good piece; I suspect the nasties are queuing up to be the first to be vile when it's opened up for comments.

In the piece, it says that the government expects to save £1.4 Billion by 2020.
That won't quite cover the cost of Maximus which is getting £1.6 Billion for the first 3 years of its contract to March 2018.
Assuming it gets the same again, by 2020 it will have cost £2.4 Billion.

As you said the other day, some of us are paying for the instruments of our own oppression.

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 8:19 am

Yahyah - if you pop in this morning, I'm wishing you all the best for your trip to the doctor today. Consider yourself hugged.

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 9:03 am

Morning all.

Got greeted with "Noddy has left you a couple of presents - one in the kitchen and one near the back door." Lovely. When I'd cleared those up I got "Oh and can you check whether the pigeon is still there in the back garden too". Lots of feathers but fortunately no bird.

This is good on the academies programme. Esp. like no 6...

Building Trust

https://cogitateit.wordpress.com/2016/0 ... ing-trust/

N0.6 Stop lying. There is no evidence academies perform better (or worse) than any other school structure. There is no greater autonomy or freedom for individual schools in the system proposed by the DfE. There is no sodding money to pay great teachers more. Just. Stop. Lying.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 9:40 am

Morning all.

A worthwhile petition IMHO, if anyone can sign and share I'd much appreciate it.
https://www.change.org/p/alison-mcgover ... m-together" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 9:50 am

ephemerid wrote:With respect, seeingclearly, I doubt the ghastly Allegra would write like that - it's Amelia Gentleman....
Who, apropos of nothing, is married to one Jo Johnson. I can imagine their dinner conversations being a bit awkward.

It's good piece; I suspect the nasties are queuing up to be the first to be vile when it's opened up for comments.

In the piece, it says that the government expects to save £1.4 Billion by 2020.
That won't quite cover the cost of Maximus which is getting £1.6 Billion for the first 3 years of its contract to March 2018.
Assuming it gets the same again, by 2020 it will have cost £2.4 Billion.

As you said the other day, some of us are paying for the instruments of our own oppression.

My mistake, of course, sleepless night stuff! Thanks for putting me right and apologies for any confusion.

Post by **PaulfromYorkshire** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 10:03 am

Bit of a spat

Tim FarronVerified account ‏@timfarron 1h1 hour ago
Utterly rubbish from @Anna_Soubry Vince Cable protected Redcar and protected steel industry. This Government has no plan and is failing them

rebeccariots2 · Post by **rebeccariots2** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 10:05 am

Good morning. Sorry to spoil a Tuesday morning with this pic ... the caption seems to imply Sun readers will mind about stray moggies (I hope so) ... but I'm left wondering if Cameron has given up on fish and now has to have a glass of lager in front of him and Sam when they are photographed - must show their plebiscite credentials.

: Cameron Grins Like Cheshire Cat.jpg (36 KiB) Viewed 6865 times

Sun Politics ‏@SunPolitics 27m27 minutes ago
Cameron grins like a Cheshire cat as stray moggies are evicted from his Lanzarote hotel http://thesun.uk/6017B9tR3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 10:26 am

It has been accepted for some decades that sick/disabled people living alone/or regarded as living alone for the purposes of someone to assist them need extra support.If memory serves me right under supplementary benefit -"domestic help allowance" was for that purpose ,SDP was created when Income Support was introduced.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 10:44 am

Good-morning

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 10:45 am

Yes, best wishes to yahyah today.

nickyinnorfolk · Post by **nickyinnorfolk** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 10:56 am

ephemerid wrote:With respect, seeingclearly, I doubt the ghastly Allegra would write like that - it's Amelia Gentleman....
Who, apropos of nothing, is married to one Jo Johnson. I can imagine their dinner conversations being a bit awkward.

It's good piece; I suspect the nasties are queuing up to be the first to be vile when it's opened up for comments.

In the piece, it says that the government expects to save £1.4 Billion by 2020.
That won't quite cover the cost of Maximus which is getting £1.6 Billion for the first 3 years of its contract to March 2018.
Assuming it gets the same again, by 2020 it will have cost £2.4 Billion.

As you said the other day, some of us are paying for the instruments of our own oppression.

Re Amelia Gentleman, I remember reading in an article about Ma Johnson (AKA Charlotte Johnson Wahl) where she said her boys married 'left wing women' (she includes Marina Wheeler) because she herself was/is left wing.

It's a bit odd in a way that the 'boys' embraced Toryism but couldn't bring themselves to romance a Tory woman. Although on second thoughts, when you think about Tory women (examples include Mensch, Truss, Hopkins, McVey, Kuenssberg etc), it's perhaps understandable ...

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 11:18 am

Political posters...

http://peopleshistorynhs.org/#fndtn-museum" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

danesclose · Post by **danesclose** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 11:20 am

nickyinnorfolk wrote:
ephemerid wrote:With respect, seeingclearly, I doubt the ghastly Allegra would write like that - it's Amelia Gentleman....
Who, apropos of nothing, is married to one Jo Johnson. I can imagine their dinner conversations being a bit awkward.

It's good piece; I suspect the nasties are queuing up to be the first to be vile when it's opened up for comments.

In the piece, it says that the government expects to save £1.4 Billion by 2020.
That won't quite cover the cost of Maximus which is getting £1.6 Billion for the first 3 years of its contract to March 2018.
Assuming it gets the same again, by 2020 it will have cost £2.4 Billion.

As you said the other day, some of us are paying for the instruments of our own oppression.
Re Amelia Gentleman, I remember reading in an article about Ma Johnson (AKA Charlotte Johnson Wahl) where she said her boys married 'left wing women' (she includes Marina Wheeler) because she herself was/is left wing.

It's a bit odd in a way that the 'boys' embraced Toryism but couldn't bring themselves to romance a Tory woman. Although on second thoughts, when you think about Tory women (examples include Mensch, Truss, Hopkins, McVey, Kuenssberg etc), it's perhaps understandable ...

If the weekend papers are to be believed, Boris did manage to "romance" Petronella Wyatt, whom I would consider a Tory (despite her father once being a Labour MP)

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 11:32 am

Complaint against Iain Duncan Smith to the UK Statics Authority in regards to The Camden Interview

https://mzolobajluk.wordpress.com/2016/ ... interview/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 11:49 am

Oh dear.

Cutting the 50p tax rate ‘cost £100m’

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/poli ... 723465.ece

New figures throw into question George Osborne’s claims that cutting the 50p income tax rate increased revenue for the treasury.

The chancellor said this month that new HMRC income tax figures for 2013-14 vindicated his decision during the previous parliament to slash the 50p rate to 45p because, he said, it raised more money from higher earners.

However the office for Budget Responsibility has now indicated that the spike in tax receipts from higher earners was largely due to people deferring payments until 2013/4.

Fairly bleedin' obvious really.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 12:03 pm

Labour Animal Rights ‏@LabourAnimalRG 58m58 minutes ago

Stop the Cull have started to release names of farmers involved in the culling of badgers, check out their FB page.

https://www.facebook.com/stop.the.cull/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 12:30 pm

Costa Coffee. Is this the scam of the year?

https://www.facebook.com/paul.hopkinson ... =2&theater

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 12:41 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:Oh dear.

Cutting the 50p tax rate ‘cost £100m’

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/poli ... 723465.ece

New figures throw into question George Osborne’s claims that cutting the 50p income tax rate increased revenue for the treasury.

The chancellor said this month that new HMRC income tax figures for 2013-14 vindicated his decision during the previous parliament to slash the 50p rate to 45p because, he said, it raised more money from higher earners.

However the office for Budget Responsibility has now indicated that the spike in tax receipts from higher earners was largely due to people deferring payments until 2013/4.
Fairly bleedin' obvious really.

Indeedy - and who deferred his payments?

Why, none other than little Georgie Porgie!

Now, of course, he needs to save the £100 Million he didn't save doing his vindicating and whatnot.

Maybe he won't invest £100M in driverless cars or farming or flood defences or whatever else he promised.
Maybe there's a spare £100M stuffed down the sofa. Or sofas. He seems to have a few that rescue him on a regular basis.

I know! He could sneak in a little cut that nobody will notice, like tax credits earnings disregards ......oh.

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 12:54 pm

ephemerid wrote:
RogerOThornhill wrote:Oh dear.

Cutting the 50p tax rate ‘cost £100m’

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/poli ... 723465.ece

New figures throw into question George Osborne’s claims that cutting the 50p income tax rate increased revenue for the treasury.

The chancellor said this month that new HMRC income tax figures for 2013-14 vindicated his decision during the previous parliament to slash the 50p rate to 45p because, he said, it raised more money from higher earners.

However the office for Budget Responsibility has now indicated that the spike in tax receipts from higher earners was largely due to people deferring payments until 2013/4.
Fairly bleedin' obvious really.

Indeedy - and who deferred his payments?

Why, none other than little Georgie Porgie!

Now, of course, he needs to save the £100 Million he didn't save doing his vindicating and whatnot.

Maybe he won't invest £100M in driverless cars or farming or flood defences or whatever else he promised.
Maybe there's a spare £100M stuffed down the sofa. Or sofas. He seems to have a few that rescue him on a regular basis.

I know! He could sneak in a little cut that nobody will notice, like tax credits earnings disregards ......oh.

Let's hear interviewers reference this the next time the top rate is referenced by the chosen spokesman of the Right. In fact, let's hear what Elliott and the TPA have to say... Hah.

utopiandreams · Post by **utopiandreams** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 1:46 pm

ohsocynical wrote:Complaint against Iain Duncan Smith to the UK Statics Authority in regards to The Camden Interview

https://mzolobajluk.wordpress.com/2016/ ... interview/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm not going to listen but do wonder how many of his lies were prefixed with, 'I believe'., ohso.

Being a man of little faith when I used to say, 'I believe' I meant that I was pretty sure of something but couldn't swear to it; IDS has lessened such use. Who can believe a self-confessed Catholic's use of the term, especially one that believes in the absolution of guilt?

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 1:48 pm

Excellent piece here by the consistently good Bernadette Meaden - http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/22907" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

She efficiently debunks the oft-repeated claim from the Tories that they spend £50 Billion on support for the disabled.

One chilling fact from the piece - an IFS study last year stated this: "Public spending forecasts for these disability benefits in 2018/19 project them to be at their lowest level since the late 1960s". Ms.Meaden points out that this forecast was done before the cut to ESA WRAG was announced.

Worth a read.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 2:07 pm

Debbie Abraham makes the same point lowest since 1960,way before large scale de institutionalism.I have noted they have repeated said 50 billion"on benefits alone" all clear lies on record.

At.17.31.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... 2113000001" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RogerOThornhill · Post by **RogerOThornhill** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 2:40 pm

If you actually needed more of a pointer to where schools are heading, then this might be it.

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 2:41 pm

ephemerid · Post by **ephemerid** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 3:10 pm

HindleA wrote:Debbie Abraham makes the same point lowest since 1960,way before large scale de institutionalism.I have noted they have repeated said 50 billion"on benefits alone" all clear lies on record.

At.17.31.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... 2113000001" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's outrageous, isn't it? How the feckity feck do they get away with it?

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 3:42 pm

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016 ... on-welfare" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can the new work and pensions secretary win back trust on welfare?
Patrick Butler

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 3:47 pm

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016 ... led-people" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Up to half of people killed by US police are disabled
Mary O'Hara

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 4:03 pm

Had a little browse through that debate, linked above. I had niggles about some of the things mentioned relating to Access to Work, which stuck in my mind because of having had direct experience of interviewing people eho had benefitted some years ago. It was held up by Crabb in the debate but I was sure it had been cut, I may be mistaken because 1. I sometimes have faulty recall, 2. There is a history of u-turns, but wasn't this the thing that got pushed through within hours of the election being won, I remember it for the almost seamless way things just carried on as if the election never happened, snd this was iirc announced on the Friday and certsinly felt like salt in my wounds.

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 4:04 pm

HindleA wrote:http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016 ... on-welfare

Can the new work and pensions secretary win back trust on welfare?
Patrick Butler

Is this a QTWTAIN?

StephenDolan · Post by **StephenDolan** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 4:06 pm

http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/201 ... g-confirms" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Section 106 consigned to the dustbin?

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 4:08 pm

FWIW I don't trust any party on welfare,Labour managed to contrive in ESA legislation to reduce people's income(not expected to work) in our situation by about a tenner a week.

Temulkar · Post by **Temulkar** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 4:10 pm

HindleA wrote:FWIW I don't trust any party on welfare,Labour managed to contrive in ESA legislation to reduce people's income(not expected to work) in our situation by about a tenner a week.

There's always the Greens

HindleA · Post by **HindleA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 4:24 pm

I voted for them once in a local election,because I knew the candidate and no Labour person,unfortunately not many more did it was an extremely right wing area.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 4:37 pm

RogerOThornhill wrote:Oh dear.

Cutting the 50p tax rate ‘cost £100m’

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/poli ... 723465.ece

New figures throw into question George Osborne’s claims that cutting the 50p income tax rate increased revenue for the treasury.

The chancellor said this month that new HMRC income tax figures for 2013-14 vindicated his decision during the previous parliament to slash the 50p rate to 45p because, he said, it raised more money from higher earners.

However the office for Budget Responsibility has now indicated that the spike in tax receipts from higher earners was largely due to people deferring payments until 2013/4.
Fairly bleedin' obvious really.

I about had enough of Tory government now

utopiandreams · Post by **utopiandreams** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 4:38 pm

rebeccariots2 wrote:Good morning. Sorry to spoil a Tuesday morning with this pic ... the caption seems to imply Sun readers will mind about stray moggies (I hope so) ... but I'm left wondering if Cameron has given up on fish and now has to have a glass of lager in front of him and Sam when they are photographed - must show their plebiscite credentials.

Cameron Grins Like Cheshire Cat.jpg

Sun Politics ‏@SunPolitics 27m27 minutes ago
Cameron grins like a Cheshire cat as stray moggies are evicted from his Lanzarote hotel http://thesun.uk/6017B9tR3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I wasn't going to lower the tone any further, rebecca, but what the heck. A couple of things came to mind, in reverse order, 'As hand for glove, or tongue for sugar-plum', which was prompted by thoughts of the 'Plum Pudding' or Oxford Sandy & Black.

However that is not a glove I see his hand approach and he looks pleased to welcome a loyal beast scampering toward him. Besides cats have claws... and sharp teeth.

seeingclearly · Post by **seeingclearly** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 5:11 pm

It is a difficult case to make, where disability is concerned, both for disability rights groups and for successive governments. And that is without the increasingly awful direction of opinion on the matter. Broadly there are addressing the needs of disabled people with hopes and aspirations of people seeing past the disability so they can become a contributing and participating member of society snd not consigned to a social scrapheap , and there are those whose condition will not ever improve by virtue okf severity of condition or illness progression etc who have become unable to fulfil a work role that employers will pay for. Also concerned about a different area of social scrapheap. Or you could say those who wish to contribute and those who already may have contributed but will not be able to in the future. IDS and co have tried to kid us anyone who can press a button can contribute, but I see no button pressing jobs that don't require other skills and abilities. And at that point the arguments begin, depending on where you view things from. What I find utterly bizarre is that all of this and the ideologically driven cuts come alongside a known and very real loss of work due to automation of nearly everything, and o great that we have millions of people who are fit, educated, more than capable of work with a little job specific training in yet another kind of scrapheap. It is as though governments are blind to this such is the way it is only ever discussed in terms of competing for jobs, but there are no plans at all for the next stages, nor anything at all about the work that cannot be automated that needs doing and gets left undone because it isn't possible to make a profit out of it.

It is a mad mad situation, and you'd think more people would be waking up to it instead of chasing after benefit 'thieves' (see the numbers of accusations of fraud compared with actual fraud occurring). In the meantime there is a new lost generation, some trying to do their own thing and ride out the bad times, but a lot falling to mental health issues family breakdown snd more. I haven't yet seen a party that realistically attempts to deal with this yet. Sorry Tem, I would really love to vote Green but they havent grasped things anymore than the rest, they provide no practical models, though I do see things in other countries and in other types of thinking that clould well start to provide alternatives, but here we like to repeat history over and over. I am not hopeful for the main parties or the nationalist parties either. And my contempt for the Lib Dems has no bounds. What is hopeful are the handful of individual politicians who do get it, they are better than nothing.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 5:31 pm

Government is going to make dispensing prescriptions more 'efficient' and 'cost effective'

Amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012:
‘Hub and spoke’ dispensing, prices of medicines on dispensing labels, labelling requirements
and pharmacists' exemption

Consultation document

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 2016_A.pdf

My pharmacist is distraught.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 5:52 pm

seeingclearly wrote:IDS and co have tried to kid us anyone who can press a button can contribute, but I see no button pressing jobs that don't require other skills and abilities. And at that point the arguments begin, depending on where you view things from. What I find utterly bizarre is that all of this and the ideologically driven cuts come alongside a known and very real loss of work due to automation of nearly everything, and o great that we have millions of people who are fit, educated, more than capable of work with a little job specific training in yet another kind of scrapheap. It is as though governments are blind to this such is the way it is only ever discussed in terms of competing for jobs, but there are no plans at all for the next stages, nor anything at all about the work that cannot be automated that needs doing and gets left undone because it isn't possible to make a profit out of it.

(cJA edit)

Yes - this

The pharmacy consultation I've posted up the thread is related to this.
Government changes will mean pharmacies will close - most of them.
All the pharmaceutical staff no longer have jobs either.
Unless, of course, government are thinking about pharmacies and pharmaceutical staff taking the place of the NHS.
I've just frightened myself some more.

ohsocynical · Post by **ohsocynical** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 6:02 pm

US firm doing Tories’ dirty work on benefits is hit by whistleblower’s shocking allegations

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fi ... ar_twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 6:02 pm

ephemerid wrote:Yahyah - if you pop in this morning, I'm wishing you all the best for your trip to the doctor today. Consider yourself hugged.

Thanks Ephie

Good news, blood test for arteritis/inflammation was normal.
Am zonked and have spent the afternon in bed as doc has added in another drug to try and tackle things other than with Imigran.

So what's been happening ?

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 6:04 pm

Pharmacy at the heart of the NHS

"There is real potential for far greater use of community pharmacy and pharmacists: in prevention of ill health;
support for healthy living; support for self-care for minor ailments and long term conditions; medication reviews
in care homes; and as part of more integrated local care models. To this end we need a clinically focussed community
pharmacy service that is better integrated with primary care. That will help relieve the pressure on GPs and Accident
and Emergency Departments, ensure optimal use of medicines, better value and better patient outcomes, and contribute
to delivering seven day health and care services."

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... r-psnc.pdf

Do we approve of this here?
Is this allowed?

Putting community pharmacy at the heart of the NHS

The consultation on the proposals that will lead to drug tariff determinations in October 2016,
has been extended by 2 months until 24 May 2016. The consultation on the pharmacy
integration fund will end on 24 March.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... of-the-nhs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 6:06 pm

yahyah wrote:
ephemerid wrote:Yahyah - if you pop in this morning, I'm wishing you all the best for your trip to the doctor today. Consider yourself hugged.
Thanks Ephie

Good news, blood test for arteritis/inflammation was normal.
Am zonked and have spent the afternon in bed as doc has added in another drug to try and tackle things other than with Imigran.

So what's been happening ?

Hurrah!!!!

yahyah is fine!!!

AnatolyKasparov · Post by **AnatolyKasparov** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 6:13 pm

Good to hear you aren't too bad, yahyah

As maybe suggested by the post count, you haven't missed a massive amount today - still a post holiday lull methinks.

citizenJA · Post by **citizenJA** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 6:17 pm

Tory Health Care in the Community - 21st century

the tone don't go any lower

yahyah · Post by **yahyah** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 6:20 pm

Using community pharmacists to help reduce the strain on GPs has some merits, but as ever it depends on the motive behind any changes. The consultation is calling for the community pharmacists to be better integrated into primary care...again that doesn't seem a bad thing.

One of the other things in the consultation is about including the price of medication, and how the cost is met, on the prescription label.
Having worked in my previous life to shave nearly 20% off my work place's prescribing budget I know that there is a lot of wastage in the system. It may help for people to realise the true cost of their medication when it is an expensive drug.

There's always the risk though that it may make some people feel guilty at what their ailment is costing, and of course some people in England who pay prescription charges may get grumpy at paying over the odds for a cheap drug.

NonOxCol · Post by **NonOxCol** » Tue 29 Mar, 2016 6:25 pm

Anyone just see that BBC News piece on homelessness? They're all on booze and drugs, dontcha know? 30% increase (50% in Manchester) is nothing to do with the government, guv.