PRESCRIPTION CHARGES

Alison,

I can guess what you might have said in letter to your M.P. but would suggest that you actually paste your letter in the forum so that others can see if they agree and follow up the same discussion with their M.P's - wonder if they get prescriptions as part of their expenses.

The other avenue might also be a No 10 Email petition - I assume Gordon Brown has continued with these which were his and Tony Blairs brainchild .... the good thing about these is they actually place aresponse (it won't be what you want) on the site for all to see.

Matt Embleton

P.S. I have put a mug shot on the site but still having difficulty submitting things.

Dear Mr Levitt, i am a 45 year old married mother of three who was
diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2007, i had my lymph nodes removed, a
full left sided mastectomy with immediate ld reconstruction (they used
the muscle from my back and an implant), i then had to have some dead
skin removed, then in December 2007 i had a total hysterectomy with
bilateral oopherectomy, then on the 21 of Jan 2008 i had a nipple
reconstruction. three days after informing the DLA of my hysterectomy date i was
turned down for the lower amount due to the fact that i can walk!!! i
also have to have drugs for the next 7 years to help prevent a
recurrence, to date i have spent nearly £160 on prescriptions. i did work
previous to this and now i recieve incapacity benefit whilst i can still get
sick notes, my husband can only earn what he does, we are just above
the limit for any sort of benefits (i have paid full stamp all my life,
that is why i can have incapacity). we have two teenagers still in full
time education so as you can imagine money is very tight. my main
gripe is that if i had type 2 diabeties through bad diet then i would have
free prescriptions, because i have lived a healthy life i am penalised.
it has been bad enough having cancer without feeling like a beggar, i
would like to know what the goverment plans to do for women like myself
who find ourselves in this horrendous situation with no financial
support, i would like to campaign for a better deal for people like myself,
and the women who will come along in the future with breast cancer,
help should be a right, not a fight, and i would like to know if i can
rely on you for support.

i look forward to hearing from you

yours sincerely

Alison Morton

i sent that letter last week, i only used my situation, as yet i have not had a letter from our elusive Tom Levit, i intend to give him just over two weeks (just in case he is on holiday!) to reply, if he doesn't then i shall approach our local paper, i am hoping that he will reply as i would rather be on his good side as i am wanting support off him to help to establish this support group that i am trying to get set up in Buxton. We have a history of rather poor MPs in this area, i am hoping this one proves to be a littler better, but its not looking good for him at the moment!
Alisonx
ps, thats a good pic Matt, you look ever so healthy x

Well, its been well over a week now and no reply from my MP, ok, maybe i should have been more tactful about type 2 diabeties but how on earth do you have confidence in these MP's? god knows we pay their wages!!!!!!!!!!!! i feel this is totally unacceptable and i will give him till Monday to reply, if nothing, then i am going to see if i can take it higher, but i expect i will get the same negative response.
Alison xxxxx

i have just sent the prime minister an email, will be interesting to see if he has any comment to make!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I'm terminal I don't pay, but I've just sent off a plea to my MP on behalf of others. Thanks for giving the link. I asked at the start of my treatment if I needed to buy a prepayment certificate and was told not to bother as all drugs would be provided. This was NOT the case (eg extra anti-sickness tablets) and I spent a lot of money.
xxxxx

Well i sent my email to my MP on the 20th of february, by the 5th of March i had not had a reply, so i sent an email to Gordon Brown, pasting the email that i had sent to my MP, on Friday i got a letter from my MP who advised me to go to the CAB!!!!!!!!!!! please, what do these MPs take us for? and then i read a little snippet in our local paper telling us that said MP has been having nice all expenses paid holidays via Nestle (producers of Buxton water) no wonder i got such a stock answer from him, so i have yet again contacted Gordon Brown, with a copy of the letter from the MP asking him could he please please just answer my questions that i had asked in the first place, as i felt my MP was too busy getting freebies!!!!!!!!!! So if Gordon Brown did not know about his Ministers scoundrel behaviour well, he does now!!!!!!
And Penny, i am so sad that your terminal and thank you for doing what you have on our behalf, i really appreciate that.
lots of love
Alisonxxxxxx

Alison,

I doubt if you ever really expected a real answer from a politician anyway.

Penny sorry to hear of your prognosis but take heart from my own story-see terminal illness fighting back etc - I was immediately placed on DLA special measures (less than six months to live confirmed by two specialists) two years ago this month and I am not writing this from the after life, I am still very much hear and doing things every day, life is cruel in many ways but it is also very beautiful......oh and by the way I have had to pay for my prescription (pre payment) all the time NO EXCEMPTION FOR TERMINALLY ILL PEOPLE is the reply I received and my monthly script consisted of around 24 items plus 250 bottles of Fortisip a month......I've now cancelled the Fortisip and script is just 8 items on pre payment until June when I reach 60

Keep fighting, Enjoy something Every Day and who knows!

Matt Embleton

Sorry Matt, it may be because I lost my job, and my partner is on a low wage as he suffers from a serious form of epilepsy. Or maybe the GP was just being kind after all the F*** ups they made with me. Anyway, we should all politicise these issues. After all, 1 in 3 of us is going to get some form of Cancer at some time. Maybe what we need is a Facebook campaign? xxx PS Alison, I had no reply. However, it'll be interesting to see if I get request for my MP to visit me at home, as I have (but not taken up offer) on several previous occasions!

I agree that it's absolutely disgraceful that cancer patients pay for their own prescriptions. My husband (aged 46) is terminally ill and he buys pre-payment certificates. He will continue to do so till the end of his life. I wrote to our own MP who wasn't aware of the situation and has said he will look into it, however I'm not holding my breath. While I empathise with those trying to get funding for 'wonder' drugs, we mustn't forget that the 'normal' drugs are being paid for on a daily basis by many.

Hi all, well, i don't have the link but i was interviewed this morning about prescription charges, had a good bit of a rant about it anyway! still had no reply from Gordon Brown, what a suprise! but i did get in touch with David Cameron whose secretary got in touch with me, then the local conservative rep got in touch, so i will be meeting him at the opening of our Self Help/Support Group, and will arrange a time to see him about the prescription charges, he is in total agreement that it is not right that we have to pay them so fingers crossed it may do some good! Will keep you all posted
Alisonxxx

- it seems to raise the profile of quite a few issues.
I think most people simply don't realise the situation. Of course, we all know how expensive it is to have cancer - lost jobs, taxi fares everyday for weeks of radio or hospital car-parking charges, prescriptions (my hospital told me NOT to get a px prepayment because "they provide everything" - ha ha! - until you get any side-effects over and above what they consider the lowest common denomintor).
I think you're fantastic Alison, and certainly a match for those politicians! I bet they tremble! Good luck, and let us know if we can do anything, or anyone thinks Facebook might be a place to campaign as well. xxx Penny

here is the link, you have to go to the Shane O'Connor show click on Wednesday and its just after the 7am News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?http://www.bbc.co.uk/radi...

i have to say, i could not believe when that Ed said i had recieved free treatment!!!!!!!!!
Alisonxxx

Hi all! Got my Portcullis-headed response today to my request to add cancer to the List of Conditions for which Patients receive free prescriptions. Typical extract: "We have now carried out an internal review of prescription charges and will be inviting views shortly on options for change that are cost neutral to the NHS". (?). They point out that only 14% of prescs dispensed in England are paid for, and why don't we get a PPC, only £98.70 annually (as at March, I presume - see they have gone up again). Anyone got any influence with their doctors? She says the original list of medical exemptions was agreed with doctors back in 1968. We should press on with this - keep nibbling away at them. My (Labour) MP says, "I do understand your point of view, but I hope the Minister's reply explains why the Government needs to take the position it does on this matter." So that's alright then.....

Hi Penny, i really do dislike these MPs, i am going to do my best to get this Conservative rep on side and see what he can do to make a difference, i am hoping to get him to stand up for us in the House of Commmon's so fingers crossed there.
Alisonxxxxxx

My husband's condition suddenly worsened on Wednesday morning this week. From that point on we nursed him at home with incredible care from his GP and district nursing team. Right up until he passed away in the early hours of this morning, we were racing backwards and forwards to various pharmacies to obtain enough drugs to control his pain and make him comfortable. Every one of the drugs had to be paid for.

Any MP who does not now lobby for free prescriptions for cancer sufferers should be ashamed of themselves.

I am so terribly sorry to hear about what has happened this week. I have just had a bit of a cry about you both - not that that helps you, but I hope it will later to know that people contributing to this site care about you. Yes, every politician with their £25,000 expense accounts should be forced to read about real people's lives. My thoughts really are with you at this awful time..... xx Penny

i can only reiterate what Penny has said, i think we will all be more determined to fight to have these charges stopped no matter what it takes. i too have cried reading this, our lives are so very fragile, why are we ignored so much by this awful goverment?
lots of love
Alisonxxxxxxxxxx

....as in Scotland and Wales. Hi there everyone! Les has alerted me to the Facebook group "Abolish Prescriptions Throughout the UK". We have both joined. It is a students' group, really, and a lot of them are messaging that they just pretend they have exemption forms - not very wise as their names are at the side of their comments! However, I have added to that site the petition to get the cancer drugs we all need, and for it not to be a postcode lottery. I am emailing all my Facebook friends, and so far am getting people responding and signing. So, please, if you are on yourself, or know of anyone else who is, ask them to look at this group and sign the petition. Lets keep this issue on the political agenda. Many thanks, xxxx Penny

Have just been toldby friend that she has tried to add her name, but was told that the petition is now closed! I can't remember which forum I originally got that email petition off, but I'll try and find it now.

Hi all,
I dont know if you would qualify but here is a link about information on obtaining a HC2 certificate.
http://www.ppa.org.uk/ppa/low_income.htm
Hope it is some help.
Love & best Wishes
Corrina