WARNING: DON'T JUST BLINDLY TRUST YOUR DOCTOR!

WARNING: DON'T JUST BLINDLY TRUST YOUR DOCTOR:
Yesterday I woke up feeling dizzy, and a lot of belching, so consulted with my local doctors surgery, on -ine of course,.

Fair enough a doctor phoned e back within a few hours and asked me the symptoms then prescribed me some pills which I managed to get to collect at the local chemist.

Before taking them I read the enclosed leaflet - ithe leaflet with the pills prescribed for the dizzziness read "read this leaflet first".

At the end of quite a long list of people that should not take the pills it iincluded if ...
"Elderly (65 years or over)"

I am almost 74!

The pills that he prescribed for the belching warned "may cause dizziness"!

So this morning I went back on line to the on-line surgery which one can only do between 7.30 and 9.30 and asked what I should do - should i take them or not or could he prescribe something safe?

So doctor just phoned and said i can take the pills and ignore the warning on the label as "we use it every day, it's one of the best ones - you can take it!"

The essential question, who to trust, the doctor or the leaflet warning - the latter, of course, serves as disclaimer - they all get paid - do doctors usually tell patients to ignore the leaflets that come with prescription medication - what consequences for a negative reaction - more pills? Why bother putting in the leaflets unless they are meant to serve as disclaimers - does the doctor mean ignore all the information and warnings or is he being selective? Presumably the warnings are based on patients experiences. Should we just ignore all safety precautions and hope for the best?

The dizziness has passed without me taking them - basically it's a choice between believing the doctor and believing the leaflet given by the manufacturers - I'd rather not believe either - especially as I told the doctor that i was doing a lot of belohing and he prescribed another pill and on that leaflet it said "may cause dizziness".

My previous surgery i went as i was getting arthritic pains in my shoulder and he gave me dihydrocodeine and on the flier it said "may cause contipation" - it did after just one pill - so i went back and told hom (actually by phone of course) so he gave me cocodenol - it said on the flier "may cause constipation". So i never took them anyway. I geuess they would have earned more money prescribing me laxatives. Instead I started eating cherries which it is said eases arthritis.
They did. I told the nurse and she said she never knew that and said "some of these alternative medicines work wonders". I told her cherries were a fruit and have been eaten for thousands of years and grow in my garden, and it is the modern pills that should be called alternative medicines.

We have to remember that these doctors are earning quite large salaries despite compaining about their hours - to be qualified they have to pass exams but they don't actually have to care.

Ear Wax Removal outrage

In the UK, the NHS used to provide a "free" ear shringing service at the doctors surgery; they stopped this so now one has to go a private service to have them vaccuum cleaned at a cost of £85 to £110

Warning that NHS Waiting List could reach 10 Million by the end of 2020

Today the UK health chiefs, according the the Daily Express, are warning that, "due to Covid-19", the NHS waiting list could reach 10 million by the end of the year.

That says a lot for the UK health services and the health of the UK Population - it says a lot more about the lack of advice from Government and Doctors on how to keep well: healthy food, lots of good (not tap) water, exercise and sunshine. 

So, 1 in 7 are sick enough to need their doctors but the doctors, in my experience, seem more interested in prescribing drugs to treat symptoms rather than the causes.

It also says something about the mentality of many UK citizens.

Shame upon our MP's that have cost so many lives through their greed and bumbling mishandling of the crisis

This Government and the previous ones have failed the NHS, failed the people, failed the country and failed the world.

Their bumbling delays have for sure cost many lives and will cost more.

Just look at Boris Johnson, boasting of shaking hands will infected people in hospital, delay after delay, then suddenly contracting the virus, getting the best health care available, and making an almost miraculous recovery, then going in a car with at least two other people to his (the PM's) private luxurious residence at Chequers, whilst ordering others to stay away from hheir safe second homes, restrict their movements and keep their distance from their loved ones.

Shame on him, shame on all the MP's with their 10 grand allowance to "run" their business from home, 10% pay rise, 50 grand increase in pension, whilst letting the rest of us down in the worst way possible.

They have no idea and I really doubt mnay care.

All the MPs who voted against giving nurses a pay rise in 2017

Boris Johnson has thanked the "unbeatable" NHS which he says saved his life as he battled Covid-19 at St Thomas's Hospital.

In a video message posted to Twitter, he named some of the nurses who cared for him, staying by his bedside for up to two days as he faced the worst of the virus.

But while the PM and his government are thanking the NHS now, people can't help but to remember a time when their gratitude wasn't quite as forthcoming...

You've probably seen references to the Tories voting against pay rises for nurses in 2017 on social media during the pandemic.

What were MPs voting on in 2017?

In 2010 the government under David Cameron and Nick Clegg froze the wages of public sector workers earning £21,000 or more for two years as part of their austerity measures. This included nurses, whose starting salary was just above the £21,000 threshold at the time.

Then from 2013, any increase to public sector workers's wages was capped at 1 per cent per year. Some people consider this essentially to be a cut, given that this was below the rate of inflation.

On 28 June 2017 MPs voted on whether or not to lift that 1 per cent cap, meaning workers including nurses might get a pay rise. And the majority voted against it.
Was the Conservative Party responsible for MPs voting against possible pay rises?

In 2017 the Conservative Party was under different leadership than it is now.

But essentially, yes. The amendment the parties were voting on was submitted by Labour and the vote was split along party lines.

The 323 MPs who successfully voted down the amendment were made up of 313 Tories and ten members of the DUP.

The 309 MPs who who voted in favour of the amendment were mostly Labour. SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and one independent also voted in favour.
What was the reaction?

Some Conservative MPs cheered as Labour's amendment was voted down.

Have MPs had a pay rise since 2017?

Pay for MPs increased by 3.1 per cent on 1 April, well above the 1.8 per cent rate of inflation by the CPI measure.

This brought their basic pay from £79,468 to £81,932.

In fact, MPs enjoyed eight pay rises throughout the 2010s, the most substantial being the jump from £67,000 to £74,000 in 2015. MPs can also claim up to £10,000 in expenses for working from home needs during the pandemic, on top of the £26,000 they can claim to cover office costs. The government have stressed that this money will be spent on equipment like laptops and printers, and is not simply a bonus for MPs.
Who voted against lifting the cap on public sector wages in 2017?

Familiar faces including Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson were amongst those who voted against the amendment.

But so did the rest of the Conservatives. With no rebellions, this seemed like more of a party decision than an individual decision. Some Conservative MPs like Andrew Murrison and Maria Caulfield did speak in favour of removing the cap, but ultimately voted on party lines.

Conservative governments were responsible for implementing and keeping in place the austerity measures that kept pay for nurses, teachers, firefighters and police officers below even the rate of inflation.

This cap was eventually lifted was largely owing to pressure on Theresa May's government from worker's unions and the Labour Party who gained 30 seats in parliament less than a month before the vote in 2017.
The full list

Current Cabinet ministers and attendees who voted are bolded.

N.B: Not everyone who was a Conservative MP in 2017 is a Conservative MP today. Some MPs like David Gauke lost their seats in the 2019 general election, whilst others like Rory Stewart are now independent.
Conservatives

Nigel Adams

Bim Afolami

Adam Afriyie

Peter Aldous

Lucy Allan

Heidi Allen

Stuart Andrew

Edward Argar

Victoria Atkins

Richard Bacon

Kemi Badenoch

Steven Baker

Harriett Baldwin

Steve Barclay

John Baron

Guto Bebb

Henry Bellingham

Richard Benyon

Sir Paul Beresford

Jake Berry

Bob Blackman

Crispin Blunt

Nick Boles

Peter Bone

Peter Bottomley

Andrew Bowie

Ben Bradley

Karen Bradley

Graham Brady

Jack Brereton

Andrew Bridgen

Steve Brine

James Brokenshire

Fiona Bruce

Robert Buckland

Alex Burghart

Conor Burns

Alistair Burt

Alun Cairns

James Cartlidge

Bill Cash

Maria Caulfield

Alex Chalk

Rehman Chishti

Christopher Chope

Jo Churchill

Greg Clark

Colin Clark

Kenneth Clarke

Simon Clarke

James Cleverly

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

Thérèse Coffey

Damian Collins

Alberto Costa

Robert Courts

Geoffrey Cox

Stephen Crabb

Tracey Crouch

Chris Davies

David Davies

Glyn Davies

Mims Davies

Philip Davies

David Davis

Caroline Dinenage

Jonathan Djanogly

Leo Docherty

Julia Dockerill

Michelle Donelan

Nadine Dorries

Steve Double

Oliver Dowden

Jackie Doyle-Price

Richard Drax

James Duddridge

David Duguid

Alan Duncan

Iain Duncan Smith

Philip Dunne

Michael Ellis

Tobias Ellwood

Charlie Elphicke

George Eustice

Nigel Evans

David Evennett

Michael Fabricant

Michael Fallon

Suella Fernandes

Mark Field

Vicky Ford

Kevin Foster

Liam Fox

Mark Francois

Lucy Frazer

George Freeman

Mike Freer

Marcus Fysh

Sir Roger Gale

Mark Garnier

David Gauke

Nusrat Ghani

Nick Gibb

Cheryl Gillan

John Glen

Zac Goldsmith

Robert Goodwill

Michael Gove

Luke Graham

Richard Graham

Helen Grant

Bill Grant

James Gray

Chris Grayling

Chris Green

Damian Green

Justine Greening

Dominic Grieve

Andrew Griffiths

Sam Gyimah

Kirstene Hair

Robert Halfon

Luke Hall

Philip Hammond

Stephen Hammond

Matt Hancock

Greg Hands

Mark Harper

Richard Harrington

Rebecca Harris

Trudy Harrison

Simon Hart

John Hayes

Oliver Heald

James Heappey

Chris Heaton-Harris

Peter Heaton-Jones

Gordon Henderson

Nick Herbert

Damian Hinds

Simon Hoare

George Hollingbery

Kevin Hollinrake

Philip Hollobone

Adam Holloway

John Howell

Nigel Huddleston

Eddie Hughes

Jeremy Hunt

Nick Hurd

Alister Jack

Margot James

Sajid Javid

Ranil Jayawardena

Bernard Jenkin

Andrea Jenkyns

Robert Jenrick

Boris Johnson

Dr Caroline Johnson

Gareth Johnson

Jo Johnson

Andrew Jones

Marcus Jones

David Jones

Daniel Kawczynski

Gillian Keegan

Seema Kennedy

Stephen Kerr

Sir Greg Knight

Julian Knight

Kwasi Kwarteng

John Lamont

Mark Lancaster

Pauline Latham

Andrea Leadsom

Phillip Lee

Jeremy Lefroy

Edward Leigh

Oliver Letwin

Andrew Lewer

Brandon Lewis

Julian Lewis

Ian Liddell-Grainger

David Lidington

Jack Lopresti

Jonathan Lord

Tim Loughton

Craig Mackinlay

Rachel Maclean

Anne Main

Alan Mak

Kit Malthouse

Scott Mann

Paul Masterson

Theresa May

Paul Maynard

Patrick McLoughlin

Stephen McPartland

Esther McVey

Mark Menzies

Johnny Mercer

Huw Merriman

Stephen Metcalfe

Maria Miller

Amanda Milling

Nigel Mills

Anne Milton

Andrew Mitchell

Damien Moore

Penny Mordaunt

Nicky Morgan

Anne Marie Morris

David Morris

James Morris

Wendy Morton

David Mundell

Sheryll Murray

Andrew Murrison

Bob Neill

Sarah Newton

Caroline Nokes

Jesse Norman

Neil O'Brien

Matthew Offord​

Guy Opperman

Neil Parish

Priti Patel

Owen Paterson

Mark Pawsey

Mike Penning

John Penrose

Andrew Percy

Claire Perry

Chris Philp

Christopher Pincher

Daniel Poulter

Rebecca Pow

Victoria Prentis

Mark Prisk

Mark Pritchard

Tom Pursglove

Jeremy Quin

Will Quince

Dominic Raab

John Redwood

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Laurence Robertson

Mary Robinson

Andrew Rosindell

Douglas Ross

Lee Rowley

Amber Rudd

David Rutley

Antionette Sandbach

Paul Scully

Bob Seely

Andrew Selous

Grant Shapps

Alok Sharma

Alec Shelbrooke

Keith Simpson

Chris Skidmore

Chloe Smith

Henry Smith

Julian Smith

Royston Smith

Sir Nicholas Soames

Anna Soubry

Caroline Spelman

Mark Spencer

Andrew Stephenson

John Stevenson

Bob Stewart

Iain Stewart

Rory Stewart

Gary Streeter

Mel Stride

Graham Stuart

Julian Sturdy

Rishi Sunak

Desmond Swayne

Hugo Swire

Robert Syms

Derek Thomas

Ross Thomson

Maggie Throup

Kelly Tolhurst

Justin Tomlinson

Michael Tomlinson

Craig Tracey

David Tredinnick

Anne-Marie Trevelyan

Elizabeth Truss

Thomas Tugendhat

Ed Vaizey

Shailesh Vara

Martin Vickers

Theresa Villiers

Charles Walker

Robin Walker

Ben Wallace

David Warburton

Matt Warman

Giles Watling

Helen Whately

Heather Wheeler

Craig Whittaker

John Whittingdale

Bill Wiggin

Gavin Williamson

Sarah Wollaston

Mike Wood

William Wragg

Jeremy Wright

Nadhim Zahawi

DUP

Gregory Campbell

Nigel Dodds

Jeffrey Donaldson

Paul Girvan

Ian Paisley

Emma Little Pengelly

Gavin Robinson

Jim Shannon

David Simpson

Sammy Wilson

So has the cap on pay rises for nurses been lifted yet?

In September of 2017 Theresa May began to show flexibility, allowing pay rises for police officers and prison workers.

Then in March 2018 she lifted the cap on pay rises for NHS workers.

Unions including Unison and the Royal College of Nursing agreed on a pay rise of 6.5 per cent over three years for nurses, paramedics, midwives and healthcare assistants.

This would take starting pay for nurses from around £22,000 in 2018 to £25,000 next year.

Will nurses be paid more because of the coronavirus outbreak?

Matt Hancock has said that he is "sympathetic" to the argument that the nurses who are risking their lives to protect us from Covid-19 should be paid more, but that "now is not the moment to enter into a pay negotiation".

The Health Secretary has also been criticised for not knowing how many nurses had died of the virus when appearing on BBC Question Time.

He later paid tribute to those who had lost their lives to coronavirus whilst working for the NHS.

Hancock might think now is not the time, but what better time could there be to give nurses the pay they deserve?



https://www.indy100.com/article/mps-voted-against-giving-nurses-pay-rise-list-9462946?fbclid=IwAR2wL-tS2mErP3itVpBTvY-tSwciGXLP7aiMaKQtNaihefJYRdXHnnQ-Elw

UK Government puzzle - can you work it out?

It's ridiculous - "they are saying" one infected person could infect 5 more; those 5, 5 more each, that's 125, then times 5 times 5 times 5, ... they say everyone is just six steps removed from everyone else on the planet; they say the fruit pickers from Eastern Europe (what one the Brexit vote) are tested before they take off and sit 2 metres away from each other and presumably stay 2 meters away from everyone whilst working and don't go shopping, yet two people that live together cannot sit together in a park; then we read that thousands of people are being brought home and not tested or put in isolation .. Boris said at the start, about herd immunity, so us, the herd, animals, need to catch the virus to build herd immunity, but not all at once because the health service his party underfunded can't cope - so is that the plan, so we all get it, he saves on pensions, population drops, but grows too because we bring so many home and so many at home will be making new slaves, ooops i mean babies, and he and his cronies can sell care badges whilst boosting their own salaries by 10%, increasing their own pensions by 5 grand each, and awarding large sums to their rich tory members who are "suffering" because of his mismanagement whilst he "takes one for the team" by going to hospital for a few days and then off to Chequers for a holiday whilst everyone else has to stay at home?

Have I got that right?

UK Government mismanaged Covid 19 Corona Virus crisis from the start

Boris Johnson and his cronies mismanaged this virus from the start, in fact long before the start - it must be obvious even to an idiot that health is the priority in any good society - or even "herd", as Johnson called us - and nothing should be considered more important than servig the health services, for without life and health we have nothing meaningfull to strive for.

Clapping and raising money for the NHS

i would really like to think that the money gets to where it is intended FAST and not sit in the bank which it has done with so many charities.

i think it is a shame that the government cannot give them this money especially when The Times reported that every one of the 650 MP's is to be given an extra £10,000 each to "help them work from home" 650 x10,000 = £6,500,000

Also, IF they raise 5 million pounds, there are about 2 million NHS staff, so that would be £2.50 each.

Coronavirus: #OneMillionClaps appeal aims to raise at least £5m for NHS workers

The money raised will provide NHS nurses, doctors, staff and volunteers with food, travel, accommodation and counselling.
Greg Heffer, political reporter
Greg Heffer

A new appeal being launched on Thursday aims to raise at least £5m to support NHS workers battling coronavirus.

Organised by NHS Charities Together, the #OneMillionClaps appeal aims to inspire at least one million Britons to donate £5 by texting "clap" to 70507 along with a message of support.

The money raised will be used to provide NHS nurses, doctors, staff and volunteers with food, travel, accommodation and counselling during the COVID-19 crisis.

The appeal will begin on Thursday evening when Britons are again expected to applaud NHS workers from their doorsteps for the third week in a row.

Comedian David Walliams has voiced a short film featuring NHS staff to promote the #OneMillionClaps appeal.
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It also features a re-recording of Queen's hit We Will Rock You with the new lyric: "NHS, we love you. We say, we say, thank you."

For the last two weeks, people all over the UK - including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and countless celebrities - have joined in the "clap for our carers" campaign on Thursday evenings, in order to thank NHS staff for efforts on the coronavirus frontline.

Open letter to the Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson

Open letter to the Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson.

Dear Boris,

Thank you for your recent mailing that you had written, printed and posted to everyone’s private addresses. I must say that I was surprised because I imagine that took a lot of effort and cost a lot of money. Could I suggest that next time you use the press, media, emails and text services and social media to save money that could be put into, for instance “the fantastic NHS”; surely that could have been better used to buy the essential equipment that the NHS is so short of? There could be publsihed an opt-out service by text, I am sure the computers could handle that.

In response, may I ask you a few questions that you and your team could maybe use the media to answer.

1) A few weeks ago, you publicly asked the public to stay at home to avoid risking infection from Covid 19, or risking infecting others. Did you think that such advice would be heeded by the population and how long did it take you realise that a stronger “order” was needed?

2) Whilst giving such advice, why did you show yourself proudly shaking the hands of patients infected with Covid 19 in hospitals? What sort of example was that? Or did you put yourself at risk to emphaise the dangers?

3) Why did you continue to visit the House of Commons and sit in close proximity to your colleagues and staff and even allow yourself to be shown on TV shaking their hands? Do you now understand that you put yourself and them at risk, especially after shaking patients’ hands?

4) At what stage did you realise that the Corona Virus was a threat to everyone and that it was likely to overburden the NHS and result in so many deaths?

5) When did you realise that the NHS is “fantastic” (one definition being “imaginative or fanciful, remote from reality”)?

6) I was sorry to see that you have had to go into hospital – how will you manage to “run the country” whilst seriously ill in a hospital bed?

7) Will you now consider ensuring that the NHS has adequate supplies, especially as you say, it will get worse before it gets better? Will you ensure that hospital staff have enough Personal Protection, transport to and from work and income appropriate to their essential value?

8) How often did you wash your hands or touch your face? Do you think that was how you became infected or do you have any idea how you became infecetd and how many others you may have infected by not heeding your own advice?

9) Are you accepting full salary whilst off sick?

10) Are you intending to apologise to the public for your blundering delays and resign?

Many thanks for your kind attention and care



Alun Buffry
Norwich North

Cannabis-based MS drug rejected by NHS Lincolnshire

How ridiculous that the UK Government spent our money on testing the usefulness of whole-cannabis extract Sativex, realised that it works better than other Pharmaceutical products, allows the pharmaceutical companies to produce the medicinal solution - then the NHS service refuses to allow it for treating the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis because they don't believe it works!

"to relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis has been labelled as "insufficient"

Yet the patients themselves, those that it was tested upon, those in other countries and those few that have been "fortunate" enough to get it here, swear that it helps them.

In fact, cannabis itself has been grown and used illegally by many sufferers for many years - a few years ago Mark and Lezley Gibson and Marcus Davies were prosecuted for supplying free cannabis-laced chocolate through their group then known as THC4MS and given suspended prison sentences.  They supplied literally tens of thousands of bars of chocolate to people that said they found huge benefit in them.  The bars of chocolate, all clearly labelled, were made by grinding the essential cannabis heads and mixing with high quality chocolate and posted out.  They could do that through donations of cannabis from illegal growers without charging anyone even a penny!   The evidence of the efficacy was indisputable.

Now, exactly the same chemical constituents, dissolved in alcohol, with a hint of peppermint flavouring, produced on mass is available at a cost of £11 a day but people are not going to be allowed to get it on prescription.

Just who are these cloth-eared tyrants in the NHS?

Stephen Gibson, head of prescribing and medicines management at NHS Lincolnshire, said: "We evaluated Sativex through our effectiveness forum and we felt it was of insufficiently high quality for us to approve it for use.

"It is also more expensive than a whole range of other options we've reviewed."

I bet they did not consider herbal cannabis itself, as available in The Netherlands, many US States, Spain and other countries - at a fraction of the cost!

It is not cannabis that we need to get rid of, it's these petty  NHS that deny their patients a medicine that they themselves know helps - the decision to refuse to allow it is indeed a sad indictment of the NHS.

UK: Cannabis-based MS drug rejected by NHS Lincolnshire


Lincolnshire Echo

Monday 20 Jun 2011

A NEW drug based on cannabis to relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis has been labelled as "insufficient" by NHS Lincolnshire.

The drug, Sativex, has been approved by regulators to help relieve spasticity or muscle stiffness in MS patients.

It has been available unlicensed in the UK since December 2005.

But last year it became the first cannabis-based medicine to be licensed for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Sativex costs £11 a day and is issued as an oral spray. Only doctors specialising in MS, such as neurologists and pain consultants, are allowed to prescribe it.

According to figures revealed by the Department of Health (DoH), patients in Lincolnshire have been prescribed Sativex on 28 occasions since August last year.

But NHS Lincolnshire said these prescriptions have been issued to "around three or four" patients taking the drug before it was licensed.

The health authority also said it had rejected Sativex because it had not yielded effective enough results to match the cost.

Stephen Gibson, head of prescribing and medicines management at NHS Lincolnshire, said: "We evaluated Sativex through our effectiveness forum and we felt it was of insufficiently high quality for us to approve it for use.

"We referred that decision to the East Midlands Specialising Commission Group who reached the same conclusion.

"It is not approved for use by any of the PCTs across the health authority.

"We have said that for new patients we don't feel there is enough strong evidence to support prescribing it.

"It is also more expensive than a whole range of other options we've reviewed."

Maureen Patten, manager of the Lincoln MS Therapy Centre in Outer Circle Drive, said: "There are around three or four people our physiotherapist knows of that have been refused the drug in the past, but we don't know the reasons why. When these drugs come out we often know about them in advance through MS forums.

"There was quite a big thing a few years ago with drugs called beta interferons which were said to be the wonder-drug for people with MS – but there were strict criteria. You had to be under 55 years old and have relapsing and not progressive MS.

"It meant it wasn't available for about half of sufferers.

"It's frustrating when drugs aren't available for people. There are quite a few drugs about to deal with MS, but the very strong ones can leave very strong side-affects.

"Other treatments include physiotherapy and having a drop-in centre like ours where people can talk with others with the same condition."

Andy Bazley, 49-years-old from Lincoln, is a sufferer of MS and was diagnosed four years ago.

He said: "All these drugs go through trials and none of them are deemed 100 per cent effective. There's always going to be different side-effects for different people – it depends on the individual and their symptoms.

"My choice is to continue with the quality of life I already have rather than putting it at risk by taking some kind of toxic drug."