Plans to remove subsidies have been dropped.
PROPOSALS to make diabetics pay nearly £1,000 a year for life-saving equipment have been scrapped by the Health Minister.
Deputy Anne Pryke had originally planned to slash funding for the Diabetic Centre by up to 40 per cent as the States aim to plug Jersey’s £50 million deficit.
But following a backlash from some of the Island’s 3,500 diabetes patients and lobbying from Diabetes Jersey, those plans to remove subsidies have been dropped.
Article posted on 29th July, 2010 - 3.00pm
28 Article Comments
I think, if their illness is as a result of years of ignored doctor’s advice, perhaps they ought to pay some money towards their care.
They should be put on notice by the doctor that should they become ill through their own doing then they could be liable for some of the costs towards healthcare.
Unfortunately this’ll never happen as you can’t prove which specific factors cause these illnesses – you can only prove that in certain circumstances you’re more likely to become ill if you continue to stuff your face with a poor diet.
Perhaps a fat tax would cover a smörgåsbord of different affilctions. If they can afford to eat. . . . .
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rightly so too. When are the politicians going to get away from these attempts to make a minority of people pay for this or that. They either make everything free or everything paid for. It would not be fair to pay for an astmatics tratment but not a diabetic or anything else. It is clear that taxs are going to go up all these attempts at cutting things are never going to work but are great PR for when they announce a tax hike.
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At last common sense why on earth are the states picking on those people who are vulnerable in society the old, the ill both adults and children, and the disabled? another example of their crass stupidity is the closing of the hospital pool!
well i can tell you because they are too scared to pick on those who should be paying and we all know who they are!
If you are asked to save money then you look at where it can be saved higher up the ladder.
The states departments need to stick to their budgets and not employ all these expensive so called experts who have yet to SAVE any money at all. Have you noticed how everything is in million of £’s now? I find it astonishing and extremely bad management and useless government!
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#1, how narrow minded of you! Do you seriously think that the cause of all diabetics’ illness is due to eating? Next you will say all patients needing dialysis shouldn’t drink so much – both common miss conceptions, but with your way of thinking, patients then with these or any illness should be put on notice, just hope you don’t get a cold, you should have stayed away from the person that gave it to you in the first place with your logic!
There are always going to be sick, injured people in life, that will never change, so why in hell are the states trying to cut spending in this area?
As for Anne Pryke, you allowed the states to dictate to you when you should have told them to take a run and jump. Stop picking on the patients and cutting services, look in your own office block and ask yourself, do I really need all these managers – failing that – leave.
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Instead of threatening front line services why are the States not looking at the overcrowded top line of management? Oh we forget…its these very managers who are putting the cuts forward!
Start at the top first and it will save hundreds of thousands!
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The incidence of diabetes is rising. This includes the variety of diabetes which occurs in childhood (type 1) and requires lifelong insulin treatment. The cause of this is autoimmune (like asthma), and it is certainly not due to failure to follow doctors advice. Good treatment means these people can live a normal healthy life. Failure to treat diabetes results in complications like kidney failure, blindness, heart disease and the need to amputate limbs. The cost of treating these complications and caring for the disabled people it creates is huge. We’re better to treat diabetics well from the outset and prevent these costly complications of entirely innocent people.
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so it should, people struggle enough when there ill let alone be expected to pay high costs to maintain a comfortable life!!
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Well said PJ.As a nurse herself,Anne Pryke has shown she is way out of touch and has no fight or stamina for patient care.As a nurse myself and ex – CEO,the patient should always come first,otherwise you become just a business with no heart.
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Don’t charge diabetics any more for their needles start charging drug addicts for theirs druggies are self inflicted so why should the state/taxpayer pay for them?
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well said ashley;
perhaps you will support my proposed tax on idiots and we can measure that by the stupidity of their comments
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Common sense at last. If you are a drug addict £50,000 a year for methadone programme
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smokescreen!
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Dont punish the poor!
If you “really” need to plug defecits then charge the “Range Rover” brigade massive taxes for poncing around on 40 mph roads and taking up space in there “most unreliable” shed on wheels little person syndrome, attention seeking chav wagons.
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In the last few weeks I have lost my part-time job due to States cut backs, had my income support cut by 70% and have been told the subsidies for diabetics will be rescinded (now overturned thank goodness).
I sometimed think it’s me, and others like me, at the bottom end of the income scale who are paying for lash-ups by civil servants and politicians at the six figure salary end of the scale.I can’t afford, nor want not to work, but the more I try the harder they make it – it’s soul destroying.
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Prescription charges. You wait, any minute now, “if we can’t charge diabetics then we’ll have to reintroduce charges. Oh, and they’ll have to be higher…” Anyone take my bet for a fiver??
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I am becoming increasingly annoyed by the way Anne Pryke goes about her duties as Health Minister, and as a States Member.
She’s not doing her job right – do the relevant consultations and analysis before making a proposal, especially one that significantly impacts the lives of thousands of Islanders. Dont make the proposal and then find out the huge impact it would have
Anne Prke – you should be embarassed by the way you are behaving. I beg you to improve
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I have no qualms about paying prescription charges, I think its only fair that those who use a service such as this should pay. I would welcome the reintroduction of charges gladly.
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It is criminal the amount of money that is wasted by heath on the cost of prescriptions.
As prescriptions are free, many patients stock-up with expensive drugs each time they see a doctor, even if they already have adequate supplies at home. They eventualy bin the drugs that they do not need/use.
Prescription charges, even a nominal charge, would reduce this waste.
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11* Methadone costs 1p per ml and the free needles stop the pread of Aids and Hepatitis C other wise society would be ridden with disease. Prehaps cigarette smokers should pay for cancer treatment.
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#18 It is Dave, but I disagree with prescriptions being charged for chronic conditions, this just penalises those that are already heavily penalised. If you have a chronic condition your earning capabilities are already lowered and you do not need a second, third, fourth, fifth,… kick in the teeth. With short-term and easily curable conditions there is no negative effect on the person’s earning capabilities. Their earning capability (or lack thereof) will be mostly down to them and so only these types of conditions should have chargeable prescriptions.
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Thats right start on prescription charges again. Whilst I agree that diabetics should have free treatment the rest of us with chronic illnesses get nothing. This will also affect the elderly middle classes again too. If you are on 3 medicines a month it really builds up. I have been on 3 a month since the age of 7! No fault of my own. All my life I pay for this and doctors check ups every 3 months and blood tests. When I have flare ups it goes up to 5 prescriptions a month- all my life! Despite my pain I go out to work so I get absolutely no help! And a month prescription is not a month- it is 28 days! Therefore it is 13 a year.
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Sorry but I just have to resond to comment (11)
” the free needles stop the pread of Aids and Hepatitis C other wise society would be ridden with disease”
No, sir, not “society” but rather “the druggies” would be ridden with disease
Gosh, it sure would be tragic if some of those poor drug-injecting darlings were to have their productive lives cut short due to using dirty needles, what a great loss to society. Yes, keep their needles free, charge those bedamned diabetics instead, that will teach them to get diabetes in the first place!
As Yoda might have put it, “priorities sorted out they need to be”
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20
agree
My O/H has had RA for 20 odd years and has had numerous amounts of different treatments including gold injections which after 5 years they decided it was,st making any difference.
when it gets too bad he is given intravenous drip in hospital for 2 or 3 days as they have to check blood pressure every half hour as he has bad heart as well.
Paying for all this would certainly take a big chunk out of the money
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#22, Tobias: ‘No, sir, not “society” but rather “the druggies” would be ridden with disease’
Aren’t “the druggies” part of society? perhaps not ‘high society’ but consorting knows no social boundaries, especially done in stages.
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“Aren’t the druggies part of society?”
No, they are not – they choose to break the laws and they choose to live their lives on a different level to the rest of society, whilst still happy to scrounge off us to obtain their free needles and methadone etc. They are not part of society apart from the times when it suits them to be so, and as such they should not enjoy the benefits that society offers.
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I am glad that the politicians have seen sense and decided not to charge diabetics for needles, etc in order to manage their condition. I would point out that as I have a son of 12 with Type 1 that not all diabetics are overweight which is very often the view of many people who are misinformed. My son is very active and has not let his medical condition stop him from doing any of the sports he did before he was diagnosed!
I would however urge Deputies Pryke and Gorst to introduce the essential needles, lancets and testing strips to the list of prescribed mediations – as it seems ridiculous that a diabetic can obtain insulin on prescription but has to buy needles and testing strips in order to administer their medication and manage their condition! At the moment, such supplies are free to children but once my son is in full time employment he will have to buy them but will be expected to pay Social Security Contributions – for what? The system at the moment needs a major re-think – it’s like giving someone a canoe without the paddles! Doctors should be allowed to provide diabetics with a prescription for their insulin, needles, lancets and testing strips which are essential for managing this life-long condition in order that they can remain as healthy as possible.
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The point is, Tobias, that whether or not you consider the druggies to be part of society as you see it, society will still suffer their infections and diseases due to the complexity of the fraternising between the groups involved.
Argue with that until someone brings HIV or Hepatitis C into squeaky clean, godly, upright and sober society.
I used to think that God invented sex to make sure that there were always new people to go to church. Now it seems that He might have been thinking about keeping hospitals in business as well.
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Why do they have to pay anything !!
Thats what we all pay National Insurance for isnt it !
Why not make Overweight People,Miserable People,
Ginger haired People pay more !!
Stop Ouzuff and his Cronies taking Whopping Personal Allowances and hiring Useless Pals from the Mainland for Stupendous amounts to do Sod all.
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