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Provision of NHS wigs in Wales, UK
Hallo there
Anyone in the UK who's had experience of getting decent, realistic, comfortable wigs prescribed and supplied via the NHS will know that it can be a postcode lottery.
We all too often read posts on these support sites of the demeaning treatment dished out by NHS bureaucracy, though, to be fair, there seem to be some shining examples of good practice.
In Wales, where I live, there are 7 main Health Board regions but there is no standardised system that ensures fair and equitable treatment for us.
As a result of enquiries about my wig funding with my Health Board, I found out they have no formal wig prescribing policy.
I also learned that a Taskforce is about to be set up by Wales Health Supplies, part of the NHS.
Before putting a new contract in place for Wales they intend to review wig provision systems to attempt to standardise service provision and pricing structures.
They have told me today that they work through the individual Health Boards on the renewal of contracts and that they are represented by the professionals who have responsibility for the delivery of these services.
They add that "clearly we would expect this to reflect the needs of users and I am happy for your views to be reflected in this process".
We know only too well that the system all too often works against us. Does it reflect the needs of users? Probably not !
So can we influence this part of the UK system in the same way as service users improved their lot in Scotland ?
Given this rare opportuntity to make representations to the Taskforce, I would be pleased to gather together your views and experiences so that they can be put before this board.
Or if anyone else in Wales wants to take this forward, I would be pleased to share what I've learned so far.
Please message me with your views or I can make an email address available.
I am also posting this note on AUK, WigsandHeadCovers and Wig Support and also copying to those individuals who have started to make representations to Parliament through other support initiatives.
Thanks for reading this.
Welshcakes
Anyone in the UK who's had experience of getting decent, realistic, comfortable wigs prescribed and supplied via the NHS will know that it can be a postcode lottery.
We all too often read posts on these support sites of the demeaning treatment dished out by NHS bureaucracy, though, to be fair, there seem to be some shining examples of good practice.
In Wales, where I live, there are 7 main Health Board regions but there is no standardised system that ensures fair and equitable treatment for us.
As a result of enquiries about my wig funding with my Health Board, I found out they have no formal wig prescribing policy.
I also learned that a Taskforce is about to be set up by Wales Health Supplies, part of the NHS.
Before putting a new contract in place for Wales they intend to review wig provision systems to attempt to standardise service provision and pricing structures.
They have told me today that they work through the individual Health Boards on the renewal of contracts and that they are represented by the professionals who have responsibility for the delivery of these services.
They add that "clearly we would expect this to reflect the needs of users and I am happy for your views to be reflected in this process".
We know only too well that the system all too often works against us. Does it reflect the needs of users? Probably not !
So can we influence this part of the UK system in the same way as service users improved their lot in Scotland ?
Given this rare opportuntity to make representations to the Taskforce, I would be pleased to gather together your views and experiences so that they can be put before this board.
Or if anyone else in Wales wants to take this forward, I would be pleased to share what I've learned so far.
Please message me with your views or I can make an email address available.
I am also posting this note on AUK, WigsandHeadCovers and Wig Support and also copying to those individuals who have started to make representations to Parliament through other support initiatives.
Thanks for reading this.
Welshcakes
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rose Marie' on
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Hi
I think this is a wonderful thing to do to help those who want and require a hairpiece. Good on you all.
I know a 'little' about the lottery that seems to be the NHS and it bothers me that some can get the help they need with their hairpiece of choice and others can't. You are a perfect example of that 'Welshcakes' as you were able to get a Freedom hairpiece with the help of the NHS while I have heard of children and young adults being turned down, there doesn't seem to be a true criteria.
I hope this is sorted so that all that require a hairpiece are able to make their own choice without limitation to that choice. We have limited funding in NZ but the funding that is available is absolutely in the hands of those that require the hairpiece. The choice of vendor, company etc is totally up to the user. It works well, except it just isn't quite enough. Things to think about for the future.
Good luck with everything
Rosy -
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