One example of many within the NHS

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by lancsdave

Another example of the wasting money in the NHS. They should clamp down on pathetic scum who don't need prescriptions but still continue to get them ( or should it be the doctors who need striking off for keep writing them out )

This morning I witnessed one of Accringtons many town centre low lifes come out of Lloyds chemists with 2 bags of what I assume were prescribed 'necessities' and walk to some other low life waiting at the corner of the market. The waiting low life handed over a sum of cash and the other one handed over his goods. 10.30am at one of the busiest points in the town centre

There's a lot to be said for overhauling the repeat prescription system, there are a lot of people ( those exempt from paying) send in a repeat prescription every month and tick every item on the list whether they need them or not, its ridiculous. I have a monthly repeat and before mine goes in I check to see what I actually need, why have a cupboard full of medicines you don't require. The thing is once they're issued they can't be sent back, a thing we have discussed on here before

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by jaysay

That wasn't the point I was making Margaret, they may say they are gluten free but are they, its all down to the prep and people do that, if we get people who are supposed to nurse the sick are accused of killing them whats the chance of every employee at an eatery sticking to the correct procedures,

Nearly 20 years ago, when Joan was first diagnosed, we went on holiday to Torquay, but we stopped overnight in a hotel near Truro, we first checked if they catered for gluten free, which they did. When we arrived Joan mentioned about the gluten free meal, and the chef actually came out to see her. when we went into the dinning room the Italian matradee showed us the the table, the waitress took our order, Joan was having soup, as the waitress came out of the kitchen the matradee actually picked up some croutons and put them in both bowls of soup, doh, He wasn't amused when Joan told him it was no use fishing them out with a spoon and wanted a fresh dish

I think if I remember rightly Barry Yates said on here that he and little pom had had a meal in Accy somewhere and her meal was supposedly gluten free, but she was ill afterwards, I'm sure he will confirm this if he sees this post.

So you see because an establishment says its provides gluten free food, doesn't always mean that it does, mainly because of human error

John you are quite right about the prep.
Gluten free meals need to be prepared in an area where wheat containing foods have not been prepared....some coeliacs are so senstivie that even food prepared in an environment where a sandwich has been prepared can affect them very badly.....and this is something that Kitchen staff sometimes do not appreciate.

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

John you are quite right about the prep.
Gluten free meals need to be prepared in an area where wheat containing foods have not been prepared....some coeliacs are so senstivie that even food prepared in an environment where a sandwich has been prepared can affect them very badly.....and this is something that Kitchen staff sometimes do not appreciate.

Reading all this about gluten free bread, I don't think there is an eatery in the country that could afford the expense of a separate area, and a chef, just in case someone comes in who is allergic to flour based products.
Retlaw.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

John you are quite right about the prep.
Gluten free meals need to be prepared in an area where wheat containing foods have not been prepared....some coeliacs are so senstivie that even food prepared in an environment where a sandwich has been prepared can affect them very badly.....and this is something that Kitchen staff sometimes do not appreciate.

Joan is one such person Margaret, thats how I know

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Retlaw

Reading all this about gluten free bread, I don't think there is an eatery in the country that could afford the expense of a separate area, and a chef, just in case someone comes in who is allergic to flour based products.
Retlaw.

They do manage it Retlaw, probably now more so than in the past, especially if they actually advertise the fact, 20 years ago only certain places catered for coeliac, now its more wide spread

[Margaret Pilkington]

The thing is Retlaw, if you make an eating establishment aware of your special needs and they say they can fulfil them, then if you suffer as a result of their failure to adequately do so, you could take legal action against them.
My nephew is severely allergic to Peanuts....he went to a chistmas party where they played cards and one of the boys had been eating peanuts before the game.....my nephew touched the cards handled by this boy, and ended up on a ventilator in ICU.
He is also allergic to milk and milk products....his reaction when he comes into contact with these is an anaphylactic shock....he carries and adrenaline pen everywhere he goes.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

The thing is Retlaw, if you make an eating establishment aware of your special needs and they say they can fulfil them, then if you suffer as a result of their failure to adequately do so, you could take legal action against them.
My nephew is severely allergic to Peanuts....he went to a chistmas party where they played cards and one of the boys had been eating peanuts before the game.....my nephew touched the cards handled by this boy, and ended up on a ventilator in ICU.
He is also allergic to milk and milk products....his reaction when he comes into contact with these is an anaphylactic shock....he carries and adrenaline pen everywhere he goes.

Things like allergies Margaret never seem to bother people who don't suffer from them, funny that ain't it

[Barrie Yates]

Originally Posted by jaysay

I think if I remember rightly Barry Yates said on here that he and little pom had had a meal in Accy somewhere and her meal was supposedly gluten free, but she was ill afterwards, I'm sure he will confirm this if he sees this post.

So you see because an establishment says its provides gluten free food, doesn't always mean that it does, mainly because of human error

Spot on Jay, it was an omelet, served upstairs in the Market Hall. I very carefully explained the need for it to be untainted by bread or other gluten food. When it arrived it looked like no omelet I have ever seen and had probably been a couple of eggs stirred around in a frying pan. The ensuing results were pretty bad and we could only assume that the pan had been used to do fried bread.
However, there are quite a number of local eating establishments that are fully aware of the requirements for a gluten free dish, serving and kitchen staff are obviously well trained in those places - went to one last night, the Grey Mare - the waitress was quite knowledgeable, so no problems.

An earlier posting compared diabetics to coeliacs - sorry but that is like comparing apples and strawberries. If you took the time to compare the relevant prices in Asda/Tesco/Morrison's between ordinary foods and gluten free foods you may be in a position to comment.

Is it alright to provide drugs or alcohol to people who have self inflicted themselves with the problem. If it is then what is wrong with providing the basic staple foods to people who have a condition that is no fault of theirs.

If you have no knowledge or experience of the subject then I suggest that you refrain from commenting on the subject.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Barrie Yates

Spot on Jay, it was an omelet, served upstairs in the Market Hall. I very carefully explained the need for it to be untainted by bread or other gluten food. When it arrived it looked like no omelet I have ever seen and had probably been a couple of eggs stirred around in a frying pan. The ensuing results were pretty bad and we could only assume that the pan had been used to do fried bread.
However, there are quite a number of local eating establishments that are fully aware of the requirements for a gluten free dish, serving and kitchen staff are obviously well trained in those places - went to one last night, the Grey Mare - the waitress was quite knowledgeable, so no problems.

An earlier posting compared diabetics to coeliacs - sorry but that is like comparing apples and strawberries. If you took the time to compare the relevant prices in Asda/Tesco/Morrison's between ordinary foods and gluten free foods you may be in a position to comment.

Is it alright to provide drugs or alcohol to people who have self inflicted themselves with the problem. If it is then what is wrong with providing the basic staple foods to people who have a condition that is no fault of theirs.

If you have no knowledge or experience of the subject then I suggest that you refrain from commenting on the subject.

Certainly like your last comment Barry, but there again there are those who think they are experts on everything just because they can use a browser, there is no substitute for personal experience

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Neil

I don't agree with food on prescription either.

What is your stance on those who require PEG Feeds? That is also prescribed food......and what about the nourishment drinks provided(on prescription) to Cancer sufferers, who become malnourished because of a sore mouth due to chemo....or who just can't face solid food.......should they too be paying for their food.
What about hospital in patients too....should a fee be levied because thay are eating whilst in hospital(after all they would be buying this food at home....so aren't they getting something for nothing?).
Neil, I am not having a go at you, I'm not being facetious or nasty........I am just putting these points to you, to ask where do we draw the line?

I know life is not impossible without the staple foods that wheat provides, but it is a lot less pleasant and harder to manage.

Why don't you try a month of no wheat products and see how hard it is.....no pasta(pasta is healthy isn't it - yes unless you are coeliac) no bread, no cake, no biscuits, no food that contains wheat based thickeners...so any casseroles stews would be runny and thin(unless you used potato starch) and look unappetizing......and as for desserts well, your choice would be strictly limited.

I do not begrudge coeliacs getting whatever help they can, to improve their lives....their condition is lifelong, it is not self induced.
I do however, begrudge the money given to alcoholics and drug addicts.....they get help with their conditions despite the fact that contributed to their ill health.

[Barrie Yates]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

What is your stance on those who require PEG Feeds? That is also prescribed food......and what about the nourishment drinks provided(on prescription) to Cancer sufferers, who become malnourished because of a sore mouth due to chemo....or who just can't face solid food.......should they too be paying for their food.
What about hospital in patients too....should a fee be levied because thay are eating whilst in hospital(after all they would be buying this food at home....so aren't they getting something for nothing?).
Neil, I am not having a go at you, I'm not being facetious or nasty........I am just putting these points to you, to ask where do we draw the line?

I know life is not impossible without the staple foods that wheat provides, but it is a lot less pleasant and harder to manage.

Why don't you try a month of no wheat products and see how hard it is.....no pasta(pasta is healthy isn't it - yes unless you are coeliac) no bread, no cake, no biscuits, no food that contains wheat based thickeners...so any casseroles stews would be runny and thin(unless you used potato starch) and look unappetizing......and as for desserts well, your choice would be strictly limited.

I do not begrudge coeliacs getting whatever help they can, to improve their lives....their condition is lifelong, it is not self induced.
I do however, begrudge the money given to alcoholics and drug addicts.....they get help with their conditions despite the fact that contributed to their ill health.

Very nicely put Margaret - one does need to experience the results of a coeliac esating food containing gluten - even a breacrumb can trigger a serious reaction - I have never cleaned my teeth as often as I do now.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Thank you Barrie.
I don't think food allergies are taken very seriously by those who haven't experienced them at first hand(either themselves, or a close family member having one of these conditions)

When we went out to Australia in 1980, my nephew was a baby six months old or so......being fed solely on breast milk, but his mother started to wean him while we were visiting. She had no idea that he had any food allergies...he had thrived on breast milk , slept well and was a bouncing baby who looked brimful of health.
In the few short weeks that we were there, he was rushed to hospital countless times...blue lights flashing. All because his mum had given him some baby rice made up with cows milk....and it was months before they tracked down what was the problem.
By the time we went home the bouncing baby had become a fractious bag of bones......who cried all the time and was poorly most of the time.
I thought that he wouldn't survive.
All because he was allergic to cows milk...and later it was discovered he was severely allergic to nuts, especially peanuts.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

What is your stance on those who require PEG Feeds?

In the words of a now famous quote "I have no knowledge of this"

So I googled it. I think the difference here is that you can buy gluten free bread and other foods in Tesco so why should they be given free when others cant get life saving medicines?

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

...and what about the nourishment drinks provided(on prescription) to Cancer sufferers, who become malnourished because of a sore mouth due to chemo....or who just can't face solid food.......should they too be paying for their food.

That is life saving/preserving treatment so is different in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Neil, I am not having a go at you, I'm not being facetious or nasty........I am just putting these points to you, to ask where do we draw the line?

I would not expect you to have a go Margaret.

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I do not begrudge coeliacs getting whatever help they can, to improve their lives....their condition is lifelong, it is not self induced.

You mentioned peanut allergies in another post, do you think they should get prescribed nut free food or should they sort out their diet themselves

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I do however, begrudge the money given to alcoholics and drug addicts.....they get help with their conditions despite the fact that contributed to their ill health.

I agree with you on this one. How many post have we had on here moaning (quite rightly usually) about the drunks/drug users hanging about on Abbey Street and around town being given free this and that. I wonder how many of those same people will be saying nice things about Amy Winehouse?

[Margaret Pilkington]

The peanut allergy thing isn't really an issue....how many people do you know who can't live their lives without having a peanut....so No, I am not in favour of people with nut allergies getting food on prescription.

Coeliac disease is a bit different....and if the gluten free bread in Tesco(or any other retail outlet) was the same price as a Warbies toastie loaf then I would be saying exactly what you are saying, but it isn't....in some instances gluten free food is more than double the price of the ordinary product....so how about this for a compromise.......the coeliac sufferer pays for their bread what you and I pay for ours,
and the rest of the cost is taken care of by vouchers...issued on prescription.

I am not exactly sure how the prescription situation is for dietary products....but for medicines it is one medicine one prescrition charge(£7 something) so if you pay your prescription charge and get 4 loaves, the coeliac sufferers are paying much more for their dietary product than the rest of us pay for ordinary bread.....and only slightly less that it is to buy in Supermarkets.

I'm glad that you didn't think I was having a pop at you....and also that some of the other points you agreed with too.

Give the gluten free experiment a try. I am sure you will be glad to go back to normal food.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

The peanut allergy thing isn't really an issue....how many people do you know who can't live their lives without having a peanut....so No, I am not in favour of people with nut allergies getting food on prescription.

Its not just about eating them though is it. As you said playing cards with someone who ate them can be deadly. Its about how the food is prepared.

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Coeliac disease is a bit different....and if the gluten free bread in Tesco(or any other retail outlet) was the same price as a Warbies toastie loaf then I would be saying exactly what you are saying, but it isn't....in some instances gluten free food is more than double the price of the ordinary product....so how about this for a compromise.......the coeliac sufferer pays for their bread what you and I pay for ours,
and the rest of the cost is taken care of by vouchers...issued on prescription.

Tesco gluten free bread is £2 (I just looked), Warbies is £1.35. Not a lot extra if you eat a couple of loaves a week. A lot better than what the NHS pay from an earlier post.