The grumpy thread

[DodgeRover]

Yet another prescription. I have long term meds for migraine & vertigo prevention, so that's 2 lots. I have medium-term meds for sciatica so on anti-inflammatories and something to settle my stomach for a few months.

 

Now I've managed to pick up a skin infection. Possibly from something at work.

 

£44 on meds in the last month.

Get a season ticket for the prescriptions it works out cheaper if you are having more than 2 a month I think.

[dozeydustman]

Prepayment cert!  You'll save a fortune at that rate, £29.10 for three months (unlimited items).

 

https://apps.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ppcwebsales/patient.do

 

 

 

Get a season ticket for the prescriptions it works out cheaper if you are having more than 2 a month I think.

 

 

I will do if the anti-inflammatories and associated tablets that stop your bowels from turning themselves inside-out become a long term medication. The £17.60 for 2 scripts per month I've had for the last 18 months or so works out cheaper.

[robinmasters]

Prepayment cert!  You'll save a fortune at that rate, £29.10 for three months (unlimited items).

 

https://apps.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ppcwebsales/patient.do

 

 

I will do if the anti-inflammatories and associated tablets that stop your bowels from turning themselves inside-out become a long term medication. The £17.60 for 2 scripts per month I've had for the last 18 months or so works out cheaper.

The medication's affecting your maths! That's £52.80 over three months.

[dozeydustman]

 

 

 

The medication's affecting your maths! That's £52.80 over three months.

 

 

D'oh

[Cavcraft]

My parents moved from Upton in Chester when I was 6months old as they couldn’t afford a larger house there. Apparently they were about £1000 more than Wrexham. Ha!

My hope now is to move back home into my parents house when I retire in thirty or so years. Assuming we don’t have to sell because of dementia. The housing market in this country is beyond a joke, it makes me so angry.

 

Upton's nice, Church Lane would be class but it's mega money down there.

[Tamworthbay]

No idea how much my prepayment prescription has saved me over the years but it still pisses me off I have to buy it. Arsehole at work is grossly fat and has made himself diabetic so gets his free (even if not diabetes related). By chance of genetics I have an aggressive form of arthritis so have to pay. And we wonder why the country is a, fat and b, fucked.

[Guest Hooli]

It's bloody stupid it's not free for everything.

[Tamworthbay]

It's bloody stupid it's not free for everything.

I don’t mind paying, but I really get aggrieved when tossers cause themselves harm and then get it for free. That is stupid to my mind, whatever happened to taking personal responsibility?

[Guest Hooli]

I can't see how the NHS is free if we have to pay for medication on it.

 

Agreed on the second part though, to me if you  cause yourself issues then you should get treated once. After that you can pay if you've not taken steps to resolve it.

[Richard]

It's bloody stupid it's not free for everything.

 

It is in Scotland.

[Guest Hooli]

Paid for by England.

 

 

 

 

 

/ducks

[Tamworthbay]

It is in Scotland.

I intend to move North of the border once our daughter is through school, I know there is good and bad in any area but there just seems a much better balance overall in Scotland. Plans are in place but it will be a few years yet sadly.

[Guest Slongchod]

Yet another prescription. I have long term meds for migraine & vertigo prevention, so that's 2 lots. I have medium-term meds for sciatica so on anti-inflammatories and something to settle my stomach for a few months.

 

Now I've managed to pick up a skin infection. Possibly from something at work.

 

£44 on meds in the last month.

 

https://apps.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ppcwebsales/patient.do

[Datsuncog]

Prescriptions are free in Northern Ireland too.

 

I happen to have a contact at the Department of Health who tells me that, what with the vast majority of prescriptions written for under-18s, over-65s and people on unemployment or disability-related benefits (and so exempt from charging anyway), the relatively few prescriptions that were paid for by folk of working age pretty much only covered the costs of administering the charging system via pharmacies and the like, and made not a dent in the ever-escalating costs of the medication. Therefore, doing away with it entirely was effectively a zero-sum move.

 

Apparently, continuing to charge for prescriptions in England is ideological rather than economic. Apparently.

[adw1977]

I suspect that if some of the people who currently pay for prescriptions were able to get them for nothing then they would get more of them.

[Datsuncog]

It's certainly possible. But that's supposed to be where proper GP diagnosis and prescription comes in, to prevent needless prescribing.

 

I kind of have mixed feelings; I do find it deeply irritating if I can't get a GP appointment for a fortnight because the surgery is clogged with people there to get a free prescription for paracetemol or a pot of Sudocrem, thus saving themselves 19p or whatever from Tesco. I suppose the pre-pay option is supposed to avoid hardship for those who need a lot of ongoing meds but don't qualify for free prescriptions, but it's still not cheap.

 

Still better than some other systems, mind.

[Steve79]

Trying to find a non power steering K11 rack is proving quite impossible. I have a sneaking suspicion that it uses a K10 rack, and the only K11 racks ARE power steering on the posher versions...

Probably best to buy this and send it for recon

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F123285628800

[bramz7]

Hmmm. Stewing about the Alfa again. After the buyer came down last week to ensure it didn't come a cropper on the (eventual) drive back, he hasn't been in touch since. 

 

 

The MOT expires next week.

[BavarianRetro]

Prescriptions are free in Northern Ireland too.

 

I happen to have a contact at the Department of Health who tells me that, what with the vast majority of prescriptions written for under-18s, over-65s and people on unemployment or disability-related benefits (and so exempt from charging anyway), the relatively few prescriptions that were paid for by folk of working age pretty much only covered the costs of administering the charging system via pharmacies and the like, and made not a dent in the ever-escalating costs of the medication. Therefore, doing away with it entirely was effectively a zero-sum move.

 

Apparently, continuing to charge for prescriptions in England is ideological rather than economic. Apparently.

 

Same with the bridge tolls in Scotland. It is indicative of how little the two main parties care for Scotland that after 7 years of Labour/Lib dem coalition at Holyrood and umpteen years of Westminster rule, nobody had bothered to calculate that it cost more to collect bridge tolls than was actually collected.

[Datsuncog]

Same with the bridge tolls in Scotland. It is indicative of how little the two main parties care for Scotland that after 7 years of Labour/Lib dem coalition at Holyrood and umpteen years of Westminster rule, nobody had bothered to calculate that it cost more to collect bridge tolls than was actually collected.

It seems to be indicative of this government mantra of "full cost recovery", aka "people won't appreciate stuff and will want more of it if they think they're getting it for free, so we'll make them pay for it at the point of use even if it ends up costing them more in the long run through general taxation".

 

See also: pay and display car parks where the amount collected doesn't cover the machine consumables and maintenance. Because heaven forfend people should use a public service without having to fumble for a handful of coins first.

[Cheggers]

Hmmm. Stewing about the Alfa again. After the buyer came down last week to ensure it didn't come a cropper on the (eventual) drive back, he hasn't been in touch since.

 

 

The MOT expires next week.

I lose track, do you have their money?

[rainagain]

Bloody youth of today.

 

Neighbours at the end of my garden were moving house over the weekend. Weren't really properly prepared for said move, but there we go. He doesn't drive, and although she does her car has been immobile for the past 6 months with an unknown Comedy French Failure. So, 20yo neighbour from down the road offers to help them move, and I lend him my slightly-bodily-knackered-but-mechanically-perfect box trailer to do so (being towed by a Panda.. really quite funny).

 

When I get the box trailer back it turns out he's managed to reverse jack-knife it and the locking handle for the jockywheel has gone though his bumper and sheared off. So I get handed back the broken bit and told "you can weld that can't you". Actually, no I can't, as it's bent all the threads, and I'll be lucky to get the bit out of the jockeywheel mounting, as there's only about three threads visible, and they're quite twisted. "oh well", and off he buggers.

 

Had that been me, even 20 years ago when I was that age, I would have been sourcing a new component as a bare minimum. Even if I couldn't offer assisitance to get the snapped bit out, I think replacing something you've broken is reasonable.

 

On top of that, I used my car transporter trailer to move her fucked Citroen from the road outside her flat to her new flat a few miles away. Granted, it helped me out somewhat as we now no longer have an abandoned and immobile car blocking wide access to my driveway, but a small donation to cover a bit of fuel might have been nice, even if it was offered and declined. Yes she was appreciative, but given that I'd just saved her a small fortune that a professional recovery would have been (and was her only real alternative) I wasn't overly impressed.

 

Makes you just not want to do things for people. Or lend anything.

 

Especially when both the bloke being moved and 20yo helper were flapping about while I was loading and unloading the Citroen "Shall I do this?", "I'll just move that", "You need to do X", "That won't work". Look, this isn't my first rodeo. If I need something doing, I'll ask. Cue even more flapping when my winch started slightly pissing about (the switch in the remote is a bit dodgy). "Is it the battery?", "I'll get some jump leads", "Here, I'll try it". JUST PISS OFF AND LET ME DO IT!! Yes, I know you're trying to help, but you're making this ten times more dangerous.

 

Gah!

 

I remember lending someone a brand new still sealed in the packet tow rope to tow a car to the breakers, it came back filthy (expected really but they could have wiped it down) and in a tangle. I asked where the 'on tow' sign was that was in the packet and they just shrugged and said they must have left if in the car after they dropped it off. I don't just know how people can act this way.

[rainagain]

No idea how much my prepayment prescription has saved me over the years but it still pisses me off I have to buy it. Arsehole at work is grossly fat and has made himself diabetic so gets his free (even if not diabetes related). By chance of genetics I have an aggressive form of arthritis so have to pay. And we wonder why the country is a, fat and b, fucked.

 

I used to have to pay for my asthma medication which if I didn't take I could die so not really optional, yet as you say fat people with crap diets got all their stuff for free. One of the few good things the SNP did was make prescriptions free for everyone. 

[Guest Hooli]

Much agreement from another asthmatic here about being able to breathe being more important than not controlling your cake intake.

[Tamworthbay]

This is what I find mad, without my ‘five a day’ I could not walk let alone work and that would cost the country a damn site more than a few prescriptions. And when people with asthma, life threatening allergies and hereditary heart disease etc etc have to pay for essential meds but lifestyle illnesses get them free you have to question the logic.

[mercrocker]

I remember lending someone a brand new still sealed in the packet tow rope to tow a car to the breakers, it came back filthy (expected really but they could have wiped it down) and in a tangle. I asked where the 'on tow' sign was that was in the packet and they just shrugged and said they must have left if in the car after they dropped it off. I don't just know how people can act this way.

 

Quite a relevant observation amongst posts querying why we are still paying for prescriptions...... 

 

People take the piss and don't look after shit.  Including themselves, very often.

[Lacquer Peel]

"I'm going to take this life saving medication, just for the lols" said no one ever.

 

I wonder how many working people give up taking medication that helps them due to the cost.

[fordperv]

This is what I find mad, without my ‘five a day’ I could not walk let alone work and that would cost the country a damn site more than a few prescriptions. And when people with asthma, life threatening allergies and hereditary heart disease etc etc have to pay for essential meds but lifestyle illnesses get them free you have to question the logic.

You know what pees me off, cake shovellers who have made themselves so fat they can't walk and claim to be disabled because of it ride mobility scooters everywhere etc, im sorry instead of paying disability the government should give out boot camp stays to get them into shape

[Lacquer Peel]

The problem is the society, not the individual.

[Tamworthbay]

To a certain degree but people are still responsible for what they eat. I hear the arguments that it can be expensive to eat healthily and it’s true to an extent but equally it’s easy and cheaper to just not eat as much. Every one of those who abuse the system as fordperv points out gives ammunition to those who would love to destroy the safety net that the benefits system was intended to be. And we arent talking about those carrying a bit too much weight, it’s people who are seriously obese and know it’s damaging their health but carry on anyway.