Good Morning to you all. Please note I am not trying to sell you anything or recommending any form medication or food. Have you or a member of your family been diagnosed with Coeliac disease ? I have received the following message and thought you maybe interested reading it, sorry it is a bit long winded : Dear Peter, Here at Glutafin, we are committed to ensuring patients, like yourself, who have been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease have access to a range of staple gluten free foods on prescription. We understand that the GP practices in your area, have imposed restrictions to gluten free food available from your pharmacy. We want to support you in accessing the right advice to challenge these restrictions to ensure you feel supported to follow and adhere to a gluten free diet. As you know only too well, timely diagnosis of coeliac disease and treatment with a gluten free diet is the only way to effectively manage your condition. Evidence suggests that patients, who cannot access gluten free foods on prescription, are less compliant with dietary guidelines and struggle to maintain a gluten free diet. Click here and enter the password Glutafin123 to find a comprehensive support pack that will provide you with example responses and templates to address different issues that you may encounter in relation to restricted access. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the information found within your pack please call us on 0800 988 2470 or email [email protected]. Best wishes Glutafin Team ========================================================= I have sent the following Email letter to my local MP Damian Collins and thought you maybe interested in sending one also to your local MP also, feel free to use this letter all you need to do is to put your name and address on the letter. ========================================================= Damian Collins MP From Dear Damian Collins MP As a constituent of your area, I wanted to make you aware of a serious issue affecting local people like myself who suffer from coeliac disease. As you may already know, coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder triggered by an intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Patients with coeliac disease require the support of a healthcare professional and can suffer from a range of symptoms including severe abdominal pain, weight loss and headaches. 1 in 100 people in the UK are affected by this disease and there is no cure. The only treatment involves a lifelong, strict gluten free diet. If this diet is not adhered to, sufferers can experience associated health problems including infertility, anaemia, osteoporosis and bowel cancer placing financial strain on the NHS. Given the serious nature of this long-term health condition, the Department of Health has provided clear recommendations to ensure patients are able to access gluten free foods on prescription. Guidelines are also provided to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) to ensure these patients have access to the right types and quantities of these staple foods, including bread. However sufferers in your area are facing challenges in obtaining these items on prescription. In my experience I am finding the only Gluten Free Items that I can obtain on prescription is Bread and Flour, yet throughout England and Wales what can or is not available varies from one region to another. As you can imagine, people with coeliac disease may face a number of health challenges which can arise from poorly managing the condition and this current situation ultimately, has the potential to further compromise their health. I would very much appreciate your support in liaising with our local CCG to encourage them to improve this situation and ensure patients with coeliac disease in this area can benefit from the same level of access to gluten free foods as patients elsewhere in the UK. Many patients rely on prescriptions due to limited access to gluten free products through shops or due to mobility or transport issues or unable to afford the high prices supermarkets charge for Gluten Free products. By restricting prescriptions we may further compromise compliance to a gluten free diet and raise the risk of potential associated health complications. If you would like to find out more, I would urge you to visit the Coeliac UK website. You may also be interested to know that there is an All Party Parliamentary Group on Coeliac Disease who is working to raise awareness of this widespread but under-represented condition. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely Peter Stenings ========================================================= Regards to all and I hope you do not mind me submitting this on your web site. Peter
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 08:49:32 +0000
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