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I'm in the UK - England. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) control funding of many aspects of healthcare - including NHS prescription, and I think also referrals to secondary care, i.e. NHS opthalmology.
MY CCG is currently consulting the public on proposals to end NHS prescriptions for what they describe as minor temporary conditions that can be cheaply treated OTC. They focus on colds and coughs - clearly to persuded the public it isn't serious/ongoing conditions, but have buried further in the documents that they also include dry eye as a "mild" condition.
I personally won't be hugely affected because I'm already under hospital care with a diagnosis of severe dry eye. But I'm furious that they want to make things more difficult for other patients - and also it's a worrying indication of how they view dry eye, which impacts on people's chances of getting treatment - or even a diagnosis in the first place. I went private (and the person I saw isn't in my local area although does work within the NHS) because they have 6 month waiting lists to see an opth on the NHS (and that's from a urgent referral - because I have complex ocular issues). I dread to think what other people are going through in my area.
I want to warn other patients about this - because the adverts in the local papers, the posters around the area, and leaflets in GP surgeries all focus on colds, coughs, etc - and lots of people won't read the whole document so won't be aware of the other, sometimes more serious and ongoing conditions they've included, ie. dry eye is not always a minor condition).
I plan to write to the local paper (they ran a brief advert/article about the consultation - and didn't mention dry eye) raising awareness and warning people. I also want to complain to my CCG about their dismissal of dry eye.
I find it difficult at times to focus my mind - because my vision is so often unfocused. So I'd welcome any tips, advice, pointers on what to write, articles/research to refer to, and how to make my letters most effective (even before my eye problems, I've always struggled with editing down writing, and being succinct).
MY CCG is currently consulting the public on proposals to end NHS prescriptions for what they describe as minor temporary conditions that can be cheaply treated OTC. They focus on colds and coughs - clearly to persuded the public it isn't serious/ongoing conditions, but have buried further in the documents that they also include dry eye as a "mild" condition.
I personally won't be hugely affected because I'm already under hospital care with a diagnosis of severe dry eye. But I'm furious that they want to make things more difficult for other patients - and also it's a worrying indication of how they view dry eye, which impacts on people's chances of getting treatment - or even a diagnosis in the first place. I went private (and the person I saw isn't in my local area although does work within the NHS) because they have 6 month waiting lists to see an opth on the NHS (and that's from a urgent referral - because I have complex ocular issues). I dread to think what other people are going through in my area.
I want to warn other patients about this - because the adverts in the local papers, the posters around the area, and leaflets in GP surgeries all focus on colds, coughs, etc - and lots of people won't read the whole document so won't be aware of the other, sometimes more serious and ongoing conditions they've included, ie. dry eye is not always a minor condition).
I plan to write to the local paper (they ran a brief advert/article about the consultation - and didn't mention dry eye) raising awareness and warning people. I also want to complain to my CCG about their dismissal of dry eye.
I find it difficult at times to focus my mind - because my vision is so often unfocused. So I'd welcome any tips, advice, pointers on what to write, articles/research to refer to, and how to make my letters most effective (even before my eye problems, I've always struggled with editing down writing, and being succinct).
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