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Help me write a letter to my GP (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by DisabledAceSocialist@lemmygrad.ml to c/comradeship@lemmygrad.ml

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As mentioned on here before, my GP surgery has reduced the amount of meds the prescribe me, not on medical grounds, but I believe on cost-saving grounds. The pharmacist in the pharmacy that is joined on to the doctor's surgery recently complained to me about the cost of my meds, and this isn;'t the first time.

The neurologist prescribed me migraine tablets and says I can take one a day as a preventative, but the doctor will only prescribe 8 a month. This is the med the pharmacist complained about - they're £12 a tablet.

Also they recently cut the amount of eczema cream and soap substitute I'm prescribed in half. Again - no medical reason for this. It's just it costs around £20 a bottle so now I'm only allowed one bottle a month instead of two.

I'm writing to the GP to ask him to reconsider, can someone help me? What should I say and how should I phrase it? Would it be going too far to mention that the pharmacist has (publicly, in front of other patients) shamed me for the amount my meds cost the country? Would it be too emotive to say "I know I'm costing the country money but I need these things"?

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[–] CriticalResist8@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 1 week ago

I agree with the two other comments, it seems a safe and productive avenue for first contact. You have to make noise and become difficult if that's what it takes, otherwise they'll think they can just cut costs on you and you won't complain. It's important to be vocal and not let anything slide. You can also, but probably if this first contact fails, ask them to justify their decisions in writing, tell them you will contact the proper decision-making organs for a confirmation (and follow up of course), etc.

Though I don't know how it works in the UK, I still find that there's a lot of leeway in bureaucracy for individual acting despite all their "reasonable" "processes". If you become "difficult", which means to assert your rights and advocate for yourself (but not threatening, yelling or harassing -- appeal to liberal values), there's a good chance they'll think it's easier to let you keep what you have rather than take it away from you. If you haven't already you should normalize asking them to justify all their decisions regarding your health to you in writing. Every time they send a decision, send back a letter/email/call asking why was this decision made and how?

Applying just the right amount of pressure for the right thing will often yield the desired result. And I say this as someone who's normally pretty chill with bureaucracy lol. But sometimes you really have to drive the point home to make them understand how much they're fucking you over and that this isn't just numbers on a spreadsheet but has real consequences.

So in this case I would echo the other comments and you should start by describing the outcome of the lack of medication. This will also prompt a reply. You could also point out that the neurologist -- a specialist who initially prescribed the medication -- prescribed one a day, and you don't understand why this was suddenly revised to 8 a month. At the end of the day the doctor's job is to give patients the least amount of medicine required to treat them, or at least I hope that's as low as they get. If their lower estimate is wrong then it needs to get bumped up and there's no two ways about it.