What is worse, with the range of OTC painkillers continuing to expand, the actual amount of [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Official figures show that Britons turn to pills for almost every ill with the average citizen picking up over 16 prescriptions every year which is double the amount reported twenty years ago, according to data from the Department of Health.

What is worse, with the range of OTC painkillers continuing to expand, the actual amount of pills that people are taking on a regular basis is probably even higher.

Some of the medical conditions that are particularly thought to be becoming over treated include high cholesterol and hyperactivity.

At the same time, medical descriptions for diet drugs are continuing to soar, which is creating an additional concern that medications that have dangerous side-effects are being used in place of simple solutions such as choosing to live a healthier lifestyle.  Even children are now taking the diet pill, which raises new concerns among medical scholars.

In 2006, the NHS spent around £22m per day on prescription drugs which is a 60%, rise over a decade.

Essex University Professor Joan Busfield stated that stoicism is now dead and Britain is slowly starting to become like the country of France which is known for treating all problems with medicine.

Busfield is known for attacking the pharmaceutical industry of creating diseases and controlling the medical dictionary to meet their needs.  Some of the most common problems that are said to have been blown out of proportion and overmedicated as a result are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, female sexual dysfunction, and restless legs syndrome.

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Other changes include free health checks for those that have a high risk of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes.  Burnham also stated that he will work with the Marie [...] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.]]> Andy Burnham announced new changes to the NHS Constitution that will give patients more rights including the right to start cancer treatment within two weeks if needed.

Other changes include free health checks for those that have a high risk of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes.  Burnham also stated that he will work with the Marie Curie Cancer Care centre on developing a plan to allow those with terminal illnesses to die in their home if it is their wish.

The decision was welcomed by the Patients Association but the organization did not feel that it would make much of a difference as the rights are already part of other NHS pledges.  The benefit of the new changes however may be that opposition parties will have a harder time developing opposite targets.

Burnham stated that the changes should help people get the access to healthcare that they need.  For example, the average waiting time from diagnosis to treatment for cancer patients is around eight weeks when those eight weeks could make a large difference in the outcome.

He continued to state that by turning previous targets into given rights within the NHS patients will now have the power to actually demand the services they need because they will now be entitled to receive them.

Starting April 1, 2010 patients can now demand the right to surgery within an 18 week period and the right to urgent cancer referrals and free health checks within a two week period.

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