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[tales-of-a-chronic-pn-insomniac]

Why I'm dreading the potential privatisation of the NHS

I have lived with chronic pain for the last eight years. In those eight years, I have had numerous consultations, x-rays, MRI scans, surgeries and prescribed medications. The only expense I have faced over those eight years has been my monthly £10 payment for my prescription pre-payment certificate (don’t get me started on my feelings about disabled people having to pay for medication – that is a whole other story in itself!) However as that is the only expense I have incurred over this time period I consider myself very lucky. Had I had to pay for each and every one of my consultations, x-rays, scans, blood tests etc etc. I would very likely be bankrupt and begging on my local street corner (not for money but for someone to put me out of my misery). There are plenty of horror stories that we have all read over the years about our NHS hospitals. From stories of needles being left in babies arms, to Gynaecology Consultants being stricken off for malpractice. (the latter being one that I was personally affected by, but again that is another story).  Sources: Cornish Guardian, Western morning news, BBC spotlight. What we rarely hear about are the good stories about our NHS, about the thousands of lives they save every day. The thousands of patients they care for every day and the real difference the NHS makes in our lives. To give you an idea of what I would have to have paid were I a private patient I offer the following information: Neurologist consultation £250.00 Pain specialist consultation £250.00 X-rays £99 each MRI scan £500 each Spinal decompression surgery £5930.00 each Spinal Fusion Surgery £5930.00 each Pain relieving procedures £1395.00 each *prices sourced from private healthcare UK. Now let’s consider the total cost of my healthcare over the eight-year period of my chronic pain battle; which has included approximately nine Neuro consultant appointments, 16 pain consultant appointments, four pain relieving procedures, two decompression surgeries and two fusion surgeries. That would make a total cost of £66,958.00. This total doesn’t even include the other health issues I have had surgery for, this covers just the health issues pertaining to my chronic pain. It also doesn’t include the many consultations with my GP (which I couldn’t even begin to remember how many of which there have been.) That figure amounts to more than what my husband and I paid to purchase our house in 1999! This highlights just how dire our circumstances could be were I having to pay for my healthcare. So, this brings me to the whole point of writing this. If the NHS in the UK is privatised fully in the next few weeks, months or years it means that my future will become financially unstable. I was told by my employers in October of 2016 that I simply “wasn’t well enough to work anymore” and they promptly terminated my contract of employment with them. Now although my own GP and family members had been telling me for the last two years that I shouldn’t have been working I had ignored them for many reasons. 1) I wanted to financially continue to support my household income. 2) I enjoyed the job I was doing immensely 3) I had worked and trained hard to get my position 4) As I was working in the NHS I could see the privatisation happening with contracts for porters and cleaners going out to tender. So, I could see the writing on the wall that full privatising was and is on the cards for our beloved NHS and that prospect terrified me (and still does to this day). You see the issue I face is this. I have degenerative disc disease which has resulted in chronic pain. Yet there is no cure, only pain management programmes, surgeries (some that can leave you in more pain than you already have so trying them is a gamble), and chronic pain groups for emotional support. Nothing takes my pain away completely (apart from the times I have been under general anaesthetic and I cannot spend the rest of my life comatose!) Therefore, I will always need prescription medications, regular GP appointments and ongoing MRI scans for as and when my other discs degrade. My husband is a 4 x cancer survivor who sees his consultant and has an MRI scan on a six-monthly basis. My eldest daughter has Reynard’s disease. My youngest daughter is asthmatic and highly allergic to dust mite which means she must take daily medication to keep it under control.   Taking these things into account can you imagine how much our ongoing healthcare would cost us? That is if we could even get covered by a private healthcare insurance policy. I worry the premiums alone would far exceed our monthly household costs. But somehow, we would have to try our best to find a plan that would cover us and help with the costs that we would be faced with. There is another solution though, one that we are already striving to put in place. In the latest general election, we used our votes wisely. We didn’t vote for the person who wants to continue with the privatisation, instead we chose the person who is fighting to save it. Along with all the doctors, nurses, HCA’s, paramedics and GPs in the UK. We have signed every single petition out there that is against privatisation. We have supported the nurses and doctor strike actions. If enough of us get involved with this and use our voices, our votes and our actions we can together, stop this from happening. You never know if you or a family member is going to be diagnosed with a chronic illness, a terminal illness or even an allergy that will affect them for the rest of their lives. Take it from someone who has had all the above happen. You may not need it right now (and I hope you never do as chronic illness is a nightmare to live with) but at some point, you or someone you love may need the NHS; and instead of having access to free treatment you will be faced with a bill, that must be paid, sometimes upfront ahead of a scan or a consultation and you may not be in a position financially to afford it. Join the fight to save the NHS before it is too late. So me and others going through chronic illness will continue to have access to free medical care, and not be crippled financially as well as physically.

#saveournh s#nhs #chronicpain #illness #finances #privatisation #health #talesofachronicpaininsomniac