NHS (UK) "Top up"

[Scazon]

It seems that in the NHS, patients are absolutely discouraged from taking up alternative therapies, but only if those therapies are alternative to the NHS's preferred treatments.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7445593.stm is the case of a cancer patient who died after paying for a treatment, approved by the FDA, but not permitted to be prescribed under the UK's NICE rules. This resulted in the NHS withdrawing the approved medication she had been prescribed, and refusing further treatment.

I wonder if any patients have had their treatment withdrawn for buying homeopathic or other woo remedies for their disease?

[Graham Jackman]

It seems that in the NHS, patients are absolutely discouraged from taking up alternative therapies, but only if those therapies are alternative to the NHS's preferred treatments.

is the case of a cancer patient who died after paying for a treatment, approved by the FDA, but not permitted to be prescribed under the UK's NICE rules. This resulted in the NHS withdrawing the approved medication she had been prescribed, and refusing further treatment.

I wonder if any patients have had their treatment withdrawn for buying homeopathic or other woo remedies for their disease?

The argument seems to be that the health system does not want to have a two-tier arrangement where the rich can afford better treatment. I imagine that the NHS does not want to pay for Cetuximab because they have doubts about its efficacy and benefits. Certainly, this woman's money didn't buy her a cure.We occasionally have media reports of patients lobbying for new drugs to be admitted to the Australian system, which have been rejected because they are expensive and offer only a temporary respite. There are those that argue that any life extension is worthwhile, but it's an attitude that can see us going bankrupt for a few very sick and ultimately hopeless cases.