Saturday 12 December 2015

Literally paying to stay alive.

I thought I would share some information regarding the NHS prescription charges for those suffering with Cystic Fibrosis.

In 1968 a medical exemptions list was drawn up to allow free prescriptions for those suffering with certain long term life threatening conditions. These conditions included Epilepsy, Diabetes and Addison's disease. So why was CF not on the list? In 1968, when the list was drawn up, most children with CF did not live to become teenagers let alone adults. Fortunately the outlook for those with CF has improved greatly and many do now live into adulthood.

Unfortunately the medical exemption list has not been properly revised since it was drawn up over 40 years ago. In 2009 Gordon Brown introduced exemption for cancer patients and had promised free prescription for those with long term conditions. Those with CF are still waiting. This means that many are literally paying to stay alive.

A huge amount of treatments and medications are needed to fight CF. To illustrate this here is a picture showing the oral medication that Ellis took on a weekly basis, 322 in total. This did not include, nebulised and inhaled drugs, nasal sprays, IV antibiotics, food supplements and endless creon capsules.

 Please take a moment to sign the petition for those with CF in England to get free prescriptions.
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/free-prescriptions-for-cystic-fibrosis