I can’t believe this. I’m booked in to have a minor surgery on my feet to clear up infected skin that has failed to respond to other treatments. It’s on the NHS so the surgery is free, but they just told me I have to pay for a pack of dressings to take home (as the wound needs the dressing changed every day and the pack apparently contains something to keep the dressings dry in the shower.) This pack is bloody £37, and I have to buy two as both my feet are having the surgery. I can’t be the only one who thinks these packs should be free along with the surgery? And where am I supposed to get £74 while going through a benefit appeal? Just when I think life can’t get worse, it finds a way. Being ill/disabled is so bloody expensive!
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That really really sucks comrade.
I understand you’re currently fighting to get your disability benefits restored. If you can show proof that you’ve historically been on benefits or income support then the NHS should give you them for free in the same way that you should have previously been receiving free prescriptions.
Do you have a HC2 certificate? This entitles you to free NHS prescriptions, dental care, and fabric supports (which I assume these dressings fall under).
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme/hc2-certificates-full-help-health-costs
You’re absolutely correct in that these things should be free, however the NHS has historically charged for fabric supports and wigs in the same way that they charge a nominal fee for prescriptions in most cases. The NHS absorbs the rest of the cost. This is crappy and puts you on the spot if you can’t afford it and aren’t prepared with evidence that you get free prescriptions, and I’m sorry you experienced this.
There should be someone at the hospital or at the NHS trust you can speak to about getting the charges dismissed.
I have a medical exemption certificate. Because I’m a cancer patient, I don’t have to pay for prescriptions, regardless of income or benefit status. Thanks, I will ask them about this.
Have you tried telling them you can’t pay? Don’t they make exceptions for people in difficult circumstances? Tell them you won’t buy the dressings since you can’t afford them. They can’t make you pay. I don’t think they’d have a guilty conscience over £74 and will just give you them (I am an eternal optimist when it comes to goodness in people).
OK I’ll ask them.
are you forced to buy the dressings? 37 pounds for a pack is insane, i bet you can buy them for much cheaper outside the hospital.
Also I’ve checked on amazon and the shower coverings alone are at least £15 and I will need two, so I don’t see how amazon would be cheaper.
They said I can buy some off amazon instead, but it doesn’t change the fact I have no money anyway.
Get regular dressings and a pack of plastic bags. Place your feet in the bags and tie them off before a shower. Use some waterproof tape to seal it up if you are worried (but if you tie it tightly enough, no or barely any water should be able to get in). I’ve done this many times. You can try it before the surgery and make sure it works. Just be careful not to slip. Use a shower mat to stand on if you have one. Or lay down a towel that you are OK with getting super-wet.
Another trick that works is to place 2 stools in your shower/bathtub (if you have the space). One stool is for you to sit on, and the other is to place your feet so they stay high and don’t touch the water. Also wrap them in a towel or something to keep it wet (or use plastic bags as well).
