NHS PRIORITIES ARE ALL WRONG.

With costs rising and money short, the NHS has, in recent years, instituted many cost saving measures. These include being less than welcoming to patients with what it considers to be lifestyle related conditions. That this approach is open to question is obvious but it's also highly subjective.

Those who are considered obese, a straightforwardly subjective decision, are now routinely told to lose weight before being sent for certain treatments. 'Alcoholics', another subjective judgement, will find themselves at the end of the queue, and may be denied treatment altogether, should they be so unfortunate as to need a liver transplant. Patients considered 'elderly' may be denied treatments due to an arbitrary decision regarding the extent of the benefit to be derived by them. Many other patients whose lifestyles are considered, subjectively and arbitrarily, to be a contributory factor in their conditions may be subjected to pressure to change before being offered treatment or medication.

However, at the other end of the scale, some want to hand out statins prophylactically to all even though the benefit is unclear. Women can obtain 'the pill' and other contraceptive aids free of charge even though there is no obvious health benefit and can be risks. Now, the Scottish NHS, with the English set to follow before long, is to begin prescribing a drug known as 'PrEP' as a preventative measure for those at risk of contracting HIV; are there not a huge contradictions in all of this ?

Using 'the pill' or other contraception, is a lifestyle choice and yet the NHS makes no subjective judgement; in fact, it actively supports this choice which has very little, if anything, to do with health. Regarding HIV, the routes for infection are few - anal intercourse and intravenous injection provide the vast majority of cases; both of these are a consequence of 'lifestyle' choices. Homosexuals and others who engage in the former can take suitable precautions, but often can't be bothered, while those engaging in the latter are usually drug addicts who could make a choice to be cured of their addiction, but, again, can't be bothered.

'PrEP' apparently costs somewhere around £300 per month for each patient, and the NHS is all set to provide this as a preventative treatment for people whose lifestyle choice is to put themselves at serious risk. Why is it that a lifestyle choice of being fat is vilified while a lifestyle choice of not taking one's own protective measures against pregnancy or HIV infection is condoned and even

supported ? This is highly subjective and highly politicised healthcare, and it stinks.