25 signatures reached
To: The government and local commissioning groups.
Stop the inequality that exists in pain management in the NHS
Stop the inequality that exists in the pain management services that are being offered in the NHS. Ensure that pain management services are delivered for free and patients aren't asked to pay for treatment that patients in other areas get for free. Put a stop to the postcode lottery for people with chronic pain.
Why is this important?
Pain management is an important part of treating people with chronic pain so that they can continue living their lives and functioning on a day to day basis. My mum has fibromyalgia and a degenerative spinal condition and neck. She has been offered very little help on the NHS but she was receiving steroid injections every three months that enabled her to walk again and function on a daily basis. Her commissioning group in Nottingham have now decided that they will no longer offer this service and she has received a letter informing her that if she wants to continue receiving the treatment she will have to pay £550 a time.
If she lived in Derbyshire she could continue to receive this treatment for FREE. My mum is 73, she worked all of her life and has paid into the NHS and taken very little out. It is completely unfair to expect my mum who only has her pension to live on to find this money when other people are receiving the treatment for FREE. I understand that the NHS doesn't have money for everything but these injections have been keeping my mum out of a wheelchair and able to walk, able to exercise and able to live her life without the constant pain that she has to endure on a daily basis. The only alternative she is ever given is opiate pain killers which are known to be addictive and do nothing but make her feel ill.
Please help me to raise awareness of the inequality that exists in the services that are offered for those who need chronic pain management and campaign for the Nottingham commissioning group to reinstate these services and offer some hope for those with chronic pain to continue receiving treatment for FREE. Health care should not be a postcode lottery. The government have caused this lottery by allowing local areas to commission their own services that they feel will benefit their areas this is causing massive inequalities in health care. The government should ensure that all patients have access to services regardless of where they live. I therefore call upon the government to end the postcode lottery that exists in health care and ensure that everyone has the same access to services.
