Statins - NHS cost cutting

[Iceni]

LAST EDITED ON 18-May-04 AT 10:40 AM (BST)

The UK have become the first country which is going to allow Statins to be bought over the counter from pharmacies without a prescription. Statins are prescribed for heart patients and those with high colesterol - they have some sever side effects.

You will be able to go to Boots or Tesco's as an example, be 'checked out' by the pharmacist and if agreed able to buy them over the counter. So far, so good, BUT the reason for doing this is to cut NHS spending. So for a patient on benefit I have no doubt the GP will prescribe, for one who is not seen as needy, they will be told to go and purchase over the counter - at a cost of 10 to 18 per month.

Statins are one of the most prescribed drugs in the UK. The other major countries are not following suit as they do not agree that these drugs come without serious side effects which have resulted in documented deaths and are very dangerous if taken in combination with other drugs.

To balance this, France allows over the counter drugs with 20mg codeine per tablet - this makes a dose of 40mg if taken at the maximum dose. I the UK the maximum over the counter dose is 8mg or 16mg if taken at max dose. I no longer need my high dosage co-codamol on prescription as I just purchase from the pharmacy.

Di
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