Prescription Foods in the UK

How would it effect you if this Government stopped prescrition foods as a way of saving money, do you think they should? Your opinions matter.

[FionaGFG Administrator]

What do you all think of Tony's Question?

Are you aware that in Bolton Certain prescription foods have been axed for Coeliacs?

See: theboltonnews.co.uk/news/di...

"Now NHS Bolton, the primary care trust (PCT) which oversees local health services, has taken cakes, sweet biscuits and cake mix off the list. Items like bread and rolls will still be available. Stephen Woods, from the PCT, said: “The prescriptions include about 1,700 biscuits, cakes and cake mixes, which doesn’t fit with healthy eating advice. "

*Now I'm not a sweet toothed Coeliac so in some senses I can relate to cutting 'luxery' items from the list. Yet I know many Coeliac Parents feel strongly that they don't want their kids to feel left out and want them to be able to eat cakes/ biscuits along with their peers at social events/ school etc, so for them these kinds of items are key to helping their kids stick to the diet and feeling 'normal'.

CONSIDER:

Yet is this the thin end of the wedge? After all once services/ products are taken away they are rarely reinstated. Would it lead to more being removed?

As Tony asks...how would it affect you if the government stopped (all) prescription foods for Coeliacs?! Would this be a good thing - would we get market forces and more choice in the supermarkets? Or would it be dire for our wallets and would our choice be restricted?

Food for thought..........join in the debate!

[Hidden in reply to FionaGFG]

Coeliac children can have cakes and biscuits from the Free from isles of the supermarkets so need not feel left out. What we have to look at is why we in the UK are the only country in the world to have food for coeliac on prescription and I believe that this dates back to WW2 when we had food rationing and the only food that coeliac could get was gf bread in a tin. Now a days a coeliac can get cake mix on prescription that is half sugar and half wheat starch which still contains a small amount of gluten. Wheat starch is washed repeatedly in solvents to remove the bulk of the gluten this renders it inert with no nutritional value.

Because coeliac can get their daily bread on prescription that trade is taken away from the market place, so in my opinion as soon as prescription foods for coeliac were not available on prescrioption things would be much better for coeliac. Because market forces would fill the void.

As more and more coeliac are diagnosed the strain on the NHS is greater, so choices have to be made and as some medications are restricted to keep costs down it seems unfair that coeliac can get sweet biscuits on prescriptoion when anti cancer drugs for children are not prescribed to save costs. So to me it's a matter of the NHS getting it's priorities right.

What I do not like is the UK charity gets sponsorship from the low gluten wheat starch industry and they have a very powerful APPG (all party poitical group) of MP's to lobby parliament for food to be available on prescription. But they do not have a lobby group to lobby food manufacturers to keep food gf, eg: corn flakes are coated in malt and I have been told that Kellogs make cornflakes with rice malt in Thailand and do not use malt in Switzerland so why won't they import them for coeliac?

Lastly I think that if coeliac did not get food on prescription then there would be less gluten in gf food for coeliac because wheat starch is very expensive ie: £5.00 for a small 500g loaf and £5 for 500g of wheat starch and this is what the NHS has to pay for it. One big comapny SHS International owns Juvella, Trufree, Nutricia, Dr Schar. and DS so these foods would have to compete on the open market and would not have a monopoly which they do at present.

It's time for change in my opinion and I appologise if my post is controversial to some.

Jerry

Ps I voted on the Bolton Times that coeliac should not get food on script.

[Hidden in reply to FionaGFG]

Norma McGough, head of diet and health team at Coeliac UK, a charity which supports people with the disease, said: “We strongly support the continued prescription of gluten-free staple foods, like bread and flour.

“Research suggests ready access to prescription food improves adherence to the gluten-free diet, which is the only treatment for coeliac disease.”

This does not apply to ALL Coeliac's as some still get symptoms from the 200ppm of gluten currently in the "Gluten Free Diet", for these complete avoidance of gluten is called for. Coeliac UK do not support these Coeliac's

[Hidden in reply to FionaGFG]

With respect to your comment about 200ppm, I think that after 2012 it will be interesting whether coeliac who at present are happy with 200ppm will feel better for having significantly less gluten in their diet's. I have noticed that many coeliac who are happy with codex wheat starch and malted cereals etc. also suffer from IBS and I wonder if this will also improve?

I think that the point that Norma is making is that the coeliac diet is hard enough and I agree with her that before there were the Free from sections there was a need for food on prescription but that has gone now, and if a child wants to be as normal as possible, do they want to have to get a script for a sweet treat or bread or just buy it from Tesco's or Sainsbury's etc. just like their mates.

They also say that people in remote locations would suffer, and why is that? these days many country folk have to drive to a pharmacy based in the nearest supermarket/hypermarket anyway.

Now what if instead of prescription's, families below a certain income could have vouchers to offset the higher costs of gf foods valid at Morrisons, Sainsbury's and the like. And you could have a tax allowance for coeliac or their families which reduces with income.This is how I would like to see the furture for coeliac.

Jerry.

[Hidden in reply to FionaGFG]

With respect Jerry with the availability of "gluten-free" foods readily available in supermarkets etc for the tolerant coeliac is there apart from the price of items any real need for these foods on prescription at all? (open debate). With this increasing availability is it that hard a diet? it is for the supersensitve who cannot use this availability.

To give out vouchers or a tax allowance would not be cost effective against the current system as the government is looking at saving money.

At what level will the 200ppm tolerant coeliac's buy their food? "Gluten-free" 20ppm or "Low Gluten" 100ppm this will be interesting and will contradict many of peoples views that they have today.

[Hidden in reply to FionaGFG]

Hi Tony, I think that you missread my post as I said:

I think that the point that Norma is making is that the coeliac diet is hard enough and I agree with her that before there were the Free from sections there was a need for food on prescription but that has gone now.

So Norma's/CUK's argument is outdated. And I'm sorry if what I said was confusing.

I think that very low gluten food of 100ppm or less will all but die of natural causes because coeliac need the reassurance of those magic words 'gluten free'

I also read that codex wheat starch contained 96ppm and was dropping in anticipation of 2012. I think it will be products like Pringle crisps which are sprinkled with wheat starch and at present labelled 'suitable for coeliac' and contains wheat. And Walkers flavoured crisps which say the same, so I think that snack foods like these may be labelled as very low gluten.

Jerry

[Hidden in reply to FionaGFG]

My apologies Jerry, not many relate to how things were in the past. I must agree that looking at the prices of stuff in the free from section of supermarkets the pricy stuff is what is classed as a staple food ie bread, something some of us have to do without and yes I could survive without prescription foods.

I do think that the Codex die hards are in for a shock next year, the food labelled as "Gluten free" will be a top seller as opposed to the "Low gluten".

[FionaGFG Administrator in reply to FionaGFG]

Guys debate is good! Keep up the discussions. Let's see if other members join in.

[Irene Administrator in reply to FionaGFG]

Jerry - I'm totally against any 'voucher' type scheme as this again stigmatises the person handing over the voucher as being 'needy'! I understand that some countries, (Ireland and USA?) have a scheme whereby you save all your receipts for purchase of gf foods and get a tax concession at the end of a certain period.

Oz I think have another scheme on the go. I'm pro the argument for dropping the prescription foods as I think this has hampered the availability of gf food on the open market. There's obviously been a wakeup call somewhere with manufacturers/retailers, likely some analyst has shown a projection on how much £££ there is out there waiting to be collected from the Coeliac consumer and this has spurred the rush to get out gf foods. I don't much care what the motive is myself, just having the availability is good enough at present. Hopefuly the marketplace competition will help to drive prices down and people can always vote with their purse and choose to leave the more expensive goods on the shelf.

[Hidden in reply to FionaGFG]

Hi Irene, I hadn't seen it like that but I think that's a very fair point. I would like to think that coeliac with financial needs could get some some help towards their diet that's all.

In 2005 the PCT said the cost of gf food to coeliac was tens of millions add that to the free from market place and you have something worth investing in. I would love to be able to go into a dedicated gf bakery cafe on my local high street and I can see that coming. I vote with my pocket me so if you vote with your purse, good for you.

Jerry