Where to next? Ministers to crack down on overprescription of medicines on the NHS

onebigvoice

I see this headline recently.

Ministers to crack down on overprescription of medicines on the NHS

I just wonder who they will use to " crackdown " on overprescribed medicines?
  While I basically agree that there needs to be an overhaul of thesystem where you now don't see a Doctor its over the phone I believe that they are giving  tablets as a take this and a pat on the head and off you go.
  If you don't ring back within a week or so then its worked if not and you do, try this and see what happens.
  How many of us here take more than 4 different tablets a day, and have been for more than 4 weeks and now find that the side effects of these tablets are worse than what I originall went to the doctor for?
  It does not really matter whether you only take one tablet regularly or like me 20 different ones each day.
  My prescription is reviewed every month, and dosages upped or lowered  but never removed, until recently as the headaches and Nausea caused by some tablets, did not out weigh the benefits.  I refused to take some but the damage to liver, blood pressure and bloods was done after 10 years of taking one tablet well over the normal recommended dosage finding out that more than 6 weeks of this tablets is liable to cause serious liver and kidney function problems that are then for life.
   There are many like me that don't want to take anything, but can't function without them now.  So will like everything else this government does with " Good intentions " be miss construded as if you have had a tablet for many years and there is no change then reduce the dosage as there need to give it if there is no Change?
  How do you think its going to go?  Who will be the experts to decide or as the headline states Minister's to crackdown?  

Tori_Scope

Is it this article from the Independent that you're referring to here @onebigvoice?

woodbine

I take 20 different meds a day in total 32 tablets every 24 hours a day, my repeat prescription is given every month no problems and reviewed by the practice pharmacists every year (but hasn't been changed much now for over 20 years). Until I became ill 23 years ago I rarely took so much as a paracetamol.

woodbine

The truth is that the NHS has become too big, it is the world's largest employer, it is abused by the very people who rely on it, we have all known people take up a GP's time when all they needed was 2 paracetamol and a lie down, people rushing off to A&E when they could have waited and seen a GP.
Whilst the tories may have some of the blame we should all share the blame and think about how we as patients use it.