“The N.H.S. Wastes Money on Medication which the Pharmaceutical Companies Know Does Not Cure”

At a Sussex drugs conference today, C.E.P.T.A. Founder Kenneth Eckersley said that whilst waste occurs in many forms, probably the greatest waste is when we buy something, or pay someone, to do a job – “and we don’t get the promised result.”

“This”, he said “is the underlying problem in the NHS, which is comprised of premises, equipment, staff, ‘advisors’, treatment, medication and patients, and the number of patients and the frequency of their treatments control premises and equipment, the size of staff, the millions spent on advisors, and the quantities of medication taxpayers pay for.”

“However, the numbers of patients and treatments increase each year. Not because of immigration or increasing life expectancy which are blamed, but mainly because prescription “cures” have been replaced by “treatment programmes” offering “support” – based on ‘treatment’ for life.”

Eckersley pointed out that a century ago; “treatment” was nearly synonymous with “cure”. Then the pharmaceuticals realised that curing patients was losing them customers, whilst shareholders were demanding that, like other businesses, they should seek to increasingly sell more at greater profit.

Medication industry strategies have, over the last half century, moved away from “cure” and concentrated upon continuous “support” programmes based on frequent prescribing of pharmaceutical drugs to more and more population. As a result, a majority of patients are not getting cured. Treatments they receive keep them “stable”, give them “support” and make them “feel cared for”. But without a cure, the numbers of patients and drug doses rise every week.

“Consequently,” stressed Eckersley, “billions of pounds spent to keep our nation healthy are not buying the real health expected. Instead we are buying “a feel good factor” in the form of a pair of psycho-pharmaceutical crutches for which we will go on paying, and hobble along on - for the rest of our lives.”

“If we had cures” claimed Eckersley, we would need fewer hospitals, equipment and staff. We don’t get cures because the psycho-pharms have chosen to avoid ‘cure medication’ which shortens their consumer list, and instead deliver ‘maintenance’, which escalates the number of patients and treatment doses.

It is that industry’s avoidance of cure medication delivery which is the under-lying waste factor in the NHS today, because it creates waste in all sectors.

“Don’t blame government, buildings or equipment, and don’t blame the over-worked staff” said Eckersley. “Instead, ban prescription of all habit-forming pharmaceutical drugs, authorise medicines which cure, and tackle real health problems like allergies, bad diet, low exercise and drug and alcohol usage.”

Concluding, Ken advised: “Apply these simple tests to all medication – Does it cure? Does it give genuine relief? Or is it just an excuse for selling more drugs?”



For more information contact:

Campaign for the Effective Prevention & Treatment of Addiction
Arts House,
Plaw Hatch Lane,
SHARPTHORNE,
West Sussex,
RH19 4JL.

Tel: 01342 810151
E: mail: keneck@btopenworld.com
Web: http://www.solutionstodrugs.com