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Man says he is prisoner in his home due to diabetes

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On an individual basis, I feel for his plight.

In terms of the NHS always being limited in cash and medical care effectively has to be rationed, then he is just unlucky.

If his op was funded, then another op for someone else, probably just as deserving, would be unavailable.

The only way to sort this is to 'infinitely' fund the NHS. I guess if we could get rid of wars etc, we might just be able to go part of the way there.

Andy 🙂
 
I think it must be difficult for doctors sometimes. Although I can understand where this man is comming from, it is hard for him, but what do the doctors do if they have someone who has seen something of life and a child who needs a kidney transplant?
 
There was a piece on the tv about this this morning. The doctor on there added the point that surgery can be extremely dangerous when someone is so overweight, so it seems like it is a catch 22 anyway. I do feel for him, and wonder how he arrived at this position. Clearly his diabetes complications have restricted his ability to exercise - having even got to the point of making him housebound. They said on the tv that he is on 30 tablets a day, which are making it difficult for him to lose weight.

I'm surprised really that he has been rejected. He clearly meets the NICE guidelines - shows how toothless they are sometimes, and maybe it will end up costing the PCT more as his condition continues to deteriorate. I wonder though, what sort of help and education did he get in the early days about his diabetes and how to manage it? Did the PCT restrict their spending in this area and now they are having to deny him something much more expensive?

The only way that the NHS can finance such operations for the people who truly need them is for society to reduce the number of people who reach this state in the first place, but sadly the statistics show that we are heading in the opposite direction. :(
 
The NHS do not subscribe to the fact that you have to speculate to accumulate, do they?

If they can save a farthing today, that's all that counts - no matter that by spending it, it would save them a million quid in 20 years time.

Think it would be good to put all the NHS Management on one-year contracts. You know, we'll have to wait to see what next years budget is, before we'll know if we can employ you or not ......
 
I feel very sorry for him but I wonder if any surgeon would actually operate given that he already has kidney problems and by the sound of it neuropathy/circulatory problems as well.

One wonders what help he has been given to gain better control. He says he is insulin resistant and 'can't take any drugs at all for it.'
 
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I feel for him he was a policeman for many years .
 
It is one of those stories where you wonder if there's a lot of info being missed out or it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other.

Playing devil's advocate, he may be looking for a quick fix after ignoring advice to take care of himself, and is now scared. I don't recall seeing any mention of why he couldn't get about. ANd whether it's been long term.

His BMI is reportedly in the low 40s, when the PCT will fund BMI over 50. It says in Wales 40 would be enough. I suspect the story is more about the disparity between PCTs and the old postcode lottery.

Without knowing his history and what's been offered to him before, it's hard to judge whether he is a more or less deserving case than any other.

Rob
 
Robster65;271955} Without knowing his history and what's been offered to him before said:
I think sometimes it must be very difficult to judge which cause is more deserving than another. For my part I'd want my children to come first, but the doctors may think differently.
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Robster65 said:
His BMI is reportedly in the low 40s, when the PCT will fund BMI over 50. It says in Wales 40 would be enough. I suspect the story is more about the disparity between PCTs and the old postcode lottery.Without knowing his history and what's been offered to him before, it's hard to judge whether he is a more or less deserving case than any other.Rob
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Youve hit the nail on the head Rob , i agree with you when i was looking into a gastric band i was offered a bypass because i was diabetic type 1 and my bmi is in the 30s braceket
 
The bit that stuck out to me was he blamed the weight on all of the diabetic drugs he was on and not lazyness.Thats not a dig btw
 
His diabetes must have been out of control for some considerable time in order to lose an eye and the ability to walk (we aren't told why). He's a year younger than me and 30kg heavier and 1 inch shorter, so I can only assume he hasn't taken care of himself, if his kidney failure and eye loss and inability to walk are due to diabetes. Not that that means he shouldn't get treatment. Nowhere does it say what treatment has been proposed!
 
Vicsetter said:
His diabetes must have been out of control for some considerable time in order to lose an eye and the ability to walk (we aren't told why). He's a year younger than me and 30kg heavier and 1 inch shorter, so I can only assume he hasn't taken care of himself, if his kidney failure and eye loss and inability to walk are due to diabetes. Not that that means he shouldn't get treatment. Nowhere does it say what treatment has been proposed!
Click to expand...

There was a picture of him from 3 years ago where he weighed only 16 stone, so it sounds as though things have progressed quickly for him - again making you wonder what sort of support he got initially.
 
Northerner said:
There was a picture of him from 3 years ago where he weighed only 16 stone, so it sounds as though things have progressed quickly for him - again making you wonder what sort of support he got initially.
Click to expand...

That's got to be medical hasn't it? Maybe C5*Dodger's explanation of such things is applicable here?

I don't expect an answer, by the way, I'm just musing.

Andy 🙂
 
A friend of mine lives in Staffordshire and was told that his BMI was too high for the op he was seeing them for. I don't know if they are in the same PCT as the guy mentioned here is North Staffs, and I think my friend would be possibly South Staffs, but they obviously stick to their BMI targets, whether it is for the patients health or a way of saving money, who knows, I would hope it was the former.

I feel that the diabetic care that this man has been receiving has either been not very good, or he just hasn't complied with the treatment and now wants the NHS to pay for his bad control.

I was refused an op last year, was gowned and ready to go to theatre but the anaesthetist was unhappy with my general health and that my BMI was 33 and that there was no ICU back up because of all my health probs so she said she wouldn't put me under. This was in private healthcare, so it is the same as the NHS, if your BMI is wrong it's a no go.
 
I was offered a gastric band as well, when my BMI was in the mid 30s but the clinic decided against it because I'm losing weight on my own, in fits and starts maybe but still it's coming off and they're happy with that.
 
I think its a bit of both He obviously gorged as mentioned below, but i feel the pct should of helped and offerered Education and support from the beginning before it reached this stage. Perhaps if he was educated to self manage and become more active he wouldn't be the size he is or on as many drugs as he is now, one never knows. He obviously was active being a policeman in the past. Without the full story its not in my place to judge nor assume. I do feel for him tho as it sounds like it stems from his congenital disorder.

He had developed diabetes and other "health disorders" as a result of "congenital problems".

He said he had a "severe needle phobia", and over a number of years insulin had not been "delivered" as effectively as it might have been. He also had developed a "gross appetite" and started to "gorge himself" following a course of insulin.

"He tried all other relevant non-surgical interventions, including dietary and lifestyle and drug interventions, for his gain in weight but was not successful. He is rendered morbidly obese."
 
There's a very unsympathetic report about this here:

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/opinio...nd-is-a-bit-thin-1.857134?referrerPath=sport/

The reporter clearly has a bee in their bonnet about the diet she is currently undergoing, but using this man's predicament to suggest that it is all down to him being fat and lazy, without presenting any evidence to support the fact, is pretty disgusting in my opinion. Yes, there are people who are fat because they don't care for themselves, but sweetsatin's post above sheds more light on the story, showing his attempts to overcome his problems.
 
The reporter does sound a bit harsh. Although tough love (for want of a better phrase) works on some, like the gastric band and the treatment for diabetes, it is not a one size fits all situation.

I sympathise with the man, but we are not in possesion of all of the facts, so probably shouldn't comment too much or be too critical. To be honest, I don't know how I'd feel in the same situation.
 
News & star more like step to far,stupid women has no clue no facts or nothing.Alan was that you who left a comment to her earlier if so well said.
 
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