You can never have enough...

[Oh_hunnihunni]

I am well over what happened but find it very difficult reading all the vitriol over National not keeping their promise when the promise was previously made but as Ayesha Verall alluded to the problem is with Pharmac not the government - what a pity we are so tribal - Pharmac waste millions of dollars that could be spent on needed drugs - instead repeating testing that has been done elsewhere and in some cases there are years of data available on the safety of its use .We had 18 really good months back home thanks to the drug - that was 7 years ago and nothing has changed - let’s hope Paula Bennett gets stuck in at Pharmac and sort out both purchasing and supply - we hear of drug companies giving huge bribes overseas foolish to think it hasn’t happened here .Even if National had given Pharmac the money they haven’t yet tested the majority of the drugs and as many specialists have said some of them have already been replaced with better drugs .Unfortunately instead of the spotlight going on why we are years behind making drugs available the spotlight is on a broken promise - what happened to us over 7 years ago is still happening - as I previously said we were lucky we could afford to buy the drugs even if I had to smuggle them in initially while Pharmac procrastinated and then we paid a huge amount of money which I don’t regret - it’s interesting my post was taken as bitterness or regret - it was just cold hard facts whereas a lot of political comment is often just tribal politics - actually thinking about it same really for school lunches

I think everyone who goes through a stressful life experience sinks into that regret/resent mode, because we can see so clearly how the situation could have been remedied - if only... That's being human.

As for Paula Bennett, well, I'm not holding my breath on that one, I feel I know her too well to have any real hopes for change. And change is needed. Today I managed to get the right version of morphine that lets me get some sleep during a gallstone episode - as opposed to the one that sees me throwing up and developing a full body itch. So it is a miracle drug for me, it is also not subsidised... Just as well I need it so rarely, lol.

It has always been an issue for Pharmac, satisfying every need. I remember getting a subsidised cream for the kid when she got some childhood skin thing, but the subsidised pack of the stuff was insufficient to cover the outbreak and getting more required another doc visit, and another script dispensing charge... 

The idiocies in the public health system will probably always exist, thank goodness though I still get free hip implants! And thank goodness for my weird sense of humour...