Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

Most people I know who have given up have tried the NHS cessation service, but have in the end managed to give by using the e cigs which they themselves have funded.
I never started smoking so I have never been in the situation of needing to give up....my husband stopped smoking by going cold turkey....this is now nearly 40 years ago.

When the cost of cessation therapy is balanced against the ongoing medical needs that smokers incur in the NHS.....the cessation therapy is a cheaper option....now what tools are used to provide effective cessation will vary according to the individual.....but this may prove a cheaper and more effective solution in the long term.
You yourself say that the nicotine gum is unpalatable...well anything unpalatable may have very limited success....making it a more expensive/less effective choice.

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

Perhaps if they added sweet flavours to the gum, like Ecig companies do,it may make gum more palatable or would that be seen as they are trying to target kids (like Ecig company's are)?
I'm still unsure on this subject as I have little faith in test carried out on Ecigs and I've read stories of folk having bad reactions to patches and gum.
True, the cost of smoking to the NHS is scandalous so something needs to be done,is free Ecigs the way forward though....I think not.

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

Tax income from tobacco--- £12,000,000,000
Cost of smoking to the NHS- £3,000,000,000

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

That's what it's all about G,do you think this latest generous offer is a attempt to top up lost revenue from sales on normal cigs?

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

If your sick of my tabloid frenzied posts look away now :D


On one hand, the NHS is running out of money and has had its fund for new cancer-fighting drugs cut:-

NHS cuts to drugs fund means thousands of cancer patients in England will be denied life-extending treatments - Health News - Health & Families - The Independent


On the other, if you need a holiday,games console or a new satnav perhaps the NHS can help:-

NHS health budgets funding holidays, Nintendo consoles and a pedalo ride | Society | The Guardian

Is there really a limited amount of money for the NHS or is it just BS? :confused:

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

The money is limited no question, also beyond doubt its run by knobheads.;)

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

These personal health budgets were brought in by Lord Darzi.....a labour politician.....who also was in favour of privatisation in the NHS.
I think that it was in 2008 that he put forward the idea of personal health budgets.

I am not entirely sure how these health budgets work, but they tend to be applied to patients who have long term health care needs, mental health issues and the like. I do not know how they are regulated, but they are mainly used to buy care packages.
You or I would not be able to go to our GP and get a holiday, fiddle lessons or a Wii fit machine.

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

I'm better off cancelling my GP appointment then M,Mrs E will gutted she was looking forward to 3wks in Italy :D

To be honest,all these freebies are a drop in the ocean compared to those higher up the chain scamming the NHS for millions.
However,they do like us to think (via the MSM) that it's those in need who are crippling the NHS ;)

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

You are right, they are a drop in the ocean. Much more worrying is the cut in the number of drugs that are used to treat cancer patients.
I know that there is a finite amount of money available, but these drugs give people living with cancer more time.
But you see if we divert peoples attention to those stories where people are spending their care budget on stuff that we might think is unreasonable, then we might just miss the story where Cancer drugs are being taken out of use.

One in three people will suffer from cancer in their lifetime...so 33% of the population may not get the drugs that would allow them to live longer.

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

That's a scary statistic,I suspect corruption has a big part to play in our NHS being (deleted) over.
From GP's to the NHS tourist, they've all got blood on their hands :(

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

The adverts tell us that for the first time more people survive Cancer now than die from it, but from my experience of the disease,the living with it is sometimes a poisoned chalice.
And sometimes it isn't living, it is existing.

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

Like foreign aid, the money is spent on the wrong things.....IVF for same sex couples ( very non PC)......paying for locum doctors.
Paying for expensive agency nurses(bad planning) paying hospital administrators exorbitant severance packages then re-employing them in a similar capacity the day after.....not negotiating countrywide contracts for basic consumables.....paying for signage in numerous languages, paying stupid amounts for interpreters, allowing people who have no right to free treatment to escape without paying.....and that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

If the adverts tell us that more folk are surviving cancer than dying from it, I'd like to be the first to call BS on that statement ;)
Cannabis oil and other (real) cures are available for cancer but,as you know,there's no money in cures.

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

No, the stats back this up.....well survival is classed as living for five years after diagnosis.....it does not mean a normal three score years and ten lifetime.
Don't get me wrong there are some who survive for a long time....Ma was diagnosed in 2002 and she is still with us.....though her treatment has affected her life in many ways.....but you tell yourself it is better than being dead.

Re: BENEFITS hmmmm
 

The NHS is like any organisation - you have a bunch of people at the top telling the ones on the front line to work harder/faster/cheaper.

I've said before, the easy solution for the NHS is to wipe out 80% of the administrative layer and put much of the control back in the hands of the people giving the care. With all the savings from axed executive salaries, you can afford to allow wards to operate with more than the minimum safe staffing levels, and operate with sufficient slack that if there is a sudden need for extra care, there's the capacity on hand to deal with it.

If you bring in managers from business to run the NHS, you bring in a "just in time" mindset where any underutilised capacity is a bad thing. The NHS isn't there to make a profit, it's there to either cure people or to make the final hours or days of those who are at the end of their life as comfortable and dignified as possible. That can't be done with a spreadsheet.