I have no doubt that many of you will have heard about people being denied certain types of medication as their local health authority has stated that the cost of the treatment is just too expensive? They may have even gone as far as saying that the short expansion to their life may not compensate for the expense incurred in funding the treatment.
This is something that really does get my goat. It now appears that we have a very selective National Health Service. One that is only there for you if the government and your local authority decide that they can afford it.
There may actually be a way around this for people who can afford it and that is by way of private health insurance But then, how is that fair? Why should someone who has access to the funds to pay the thousands of pounds for medication have a longer life expectancy than an individual who is forced to rely on the NHS?
Then, of course, we have to cover the argument that is commonly being used in that some of these medications may only extend a person's life by a matter of a few months. There are many people who believe that when you know your time is short, even a few weeks can make a huge difference to the patient and their loved one, as they have more precious time to spend together and sort out their affairs.
This is a highly controversial issue. One that is going to raise its ugly head even more frequently as the greedy pharmaceutical companies will insist of extorting bigger prices for their wonder drugs of the future.
