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- Thread starter 1964dodge
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Taken in isolation, then yes £90 for a Covid vaccination can be seen as being a bit expensive. But then you need to look underneath the bonnet in terms of operational costs in running a vaccination (private) service as it's not just a case of jabbing someone in the arm and then sending the next patient in.
Things to consider that can affect the price :
Cost of vaccine
Vaccination training plus annual refresher courses including basic life support and anaphylaxis training plus periodical face to face refresher training.
Purchase of an accredited PGD in order to provide the service within a legal framework
Likely increase in professonal indemnity that reflects the provision of such a service being provided
Patient screening such as eligibility, checking/assessment of contraindications/allergies, assessement of consent and capacity, identifying red flags
Record keeping - date of injection, patient details, vaccine brand including batch number and expiry date, site of injection plus appropriate platform to upload data on (usually at additioanl costs).
Sharing immunisation details with the patient's GP.
So there you have it (I hope). These ongoing costs for training, data management, and record-keeping are critical factors for any pharmacy considering offering a private vaccination service. They affect the overall profitability and need to be factored into the pricing strategy for the service. A pharmacy must ensure that the revenue from private vaccinations is sufficient to cover not only the cost of the vaccine itself and the pharmacist's time but also these hidden, but essential, administrative and training overheads
Hope that helps to throw some insight into the costs of private vaccinations.
I understand where the cost goes and it's not the malicious pharmacist who takes advantage of people (mine was super nice, did a great job and I know the money's not his anyway). But there are some major holes in the system if the vaccines cannot be offered to everyone by the public entities, like they can in some other countries. I know the money always comes from somewhere, but I agree with some sources much more than others.
I don't think I'll ever stop complaining about the healthcare system because I paid more for it in one year than I believe in 30 years in another country (I didn't do the maths, but it is that significant) and I'm still an average "young healthy" adult.
It's not about the people who work for it at all, it's about the relationship between my wallet and my health.
Thank you for the information though.
I don't think I'll ever stop complaining about the healthcare system because I paid more for it in one year than I believe in 30 years in another country (I didn't do the maths, but it is that significant) and I'm still an average "young healthy" adult.
It's not about the people who work for it at all, it's about the relationship between my wallet and my health.
Thank you for the information though.
UK pharmacies at the end of the day are private businesses and so yes, are run as like with any other businesses along the same profit driven lines so as to ensure viability. Expensive yes, but then got to take into account the various running costs that are involved.
From a moral point of view, yes I agree with you in that critical meds should be offered profit free. In fact ideally I feel that healthcare should be readily and indiscriminately accessible to all. And that goes for anyone in any country.
However, from a financial point of view it's impractical. NHS funded pharmacy services are fucked up beyond belief. Pharmacies especially with regards to core dispensing are often found operating at a loss. Funds from private services help to make up for losses incurred. Even then it may not be enough. Real time cuts to NHS funding has led to approx 1200 pharnacies closing over the last 5 yrs, for the financial year 2023/2024 - 432 - equates to 8 pharmacies in England per week. So therefore profit from private services helps to subsidise NHS services which as already alluded to are either underfunded or sometimes provided at a loss.
NHS itself, poorly managed, poorly budgeted and the waste, fuck me the waste that goes on for example disposable of unused patient meds (primary and community care) approx £300 million per year. Just think what could've been done with that type of cash.
By the way, @Inastorm re Boots profit margins... Considering that its parent company has been recently sold on to a private US equity company, I'd say they'll be trying to milk it for what they can. Chances are, they'll be looking to sell that chain sometime in the future.
Might be interested @Auri , but only recently did the NHS change the eligibility criteria for those able to receive the NHS covid jab. Quite the mighty balls up as many pharmacies have already ordered vaccines in advance and are now faced with a real time reduction of anticipated bookings. Concerns have been raised with NHS England including:
I understand where the cost goes and it's not the malicious pharmacist who takes advantage of people (mine was super nice, did a great job and I know the money's not his anyway). But there are some major holes in the system if the vaccines cannot be offered to everyone by the public entities, like they can in some other countries. I know the money always comes from somewhere, but I agree with some sources much more than others.
I don't think I'll ever stop complaining about the healthcare system because I paid more for it in one year than I believe in 30 years in another country (I didn't do the maths, but it is that significant) and I'm still an average "young healthy" adult.
It's not about the people who work for it at all, it's about the relationship between my wallet and my health.
Thank you for the information though.
I don't think I'll ever stop complaining about the healthcare system because I paid more for it in one year than I believe in 30 years in another country (I didn't do the maths, but it is that significant) and I'm still an average "young healthy" adult.
It's not about the people who work for it at all, it's about the relationship between my wallet and my health.
Thank you for the information though.
From a moral point of view, yes I agree with you in that critical meds should be offered profit free. In fact ideally I feel that healthcare should be readily and indiscriminately accessible to all. And that goes for anyone in any country.
However, from a financial point of view it's impractical. NHS funded pharmacy services are fucked up beyond belief. Pharmacies especially with regards to core dispensing are often found operating at a loss. Funds from private services help to make up for losses incurred. Even then it may not be enough. Real time cuts to NHS funding has led to approx 1200 pharnacies closing over the last 5 yrs, for the financial year 2023/2024 - 432 - equates to 8 pharmacies in England per week. So therefore profit from private services helps to subsidise NHS services which as already alluded to are either underfunded or sometimes provided at a loss.
NHS itself, poorly managed, poorly budgeted and the waste, fuck me the waste that goes on for example disposable of unused patient meds (primary and community care) approx £300 million per year. Just think what could've been done with that type of cash.
By the way, @Inastorm re Boots profit margins... Considering that its parent company has been recently sold on to a private US equity company, I'd say they'll be trying to milk it for what they can. Chances are, they'll be looking to sell that chain sometime in the future.
Might be interested @Auri , but only recently did the NHS change the eligibility criteria for those able to receive the NHS covid jab. Quite the mighty balls up as many pharmacies have already ordered vaccines in advance and are now faced with a real time reduction of anticipated bookings. Concerns have been raised with NHS England including:
- The need for clearer communications to the public about eligibility, especially on the National Booking System;
- The need for better systems to ensure that only eligible people are allowed to book vaccination appointments;
- The damage to trust where people are told by one system or provider that they can receive a vaccination, and then they are ineligible;
- The damaging impact on vaccination uptake that this could have, with some pharmacy owners reporting that patients eligible for flu vaccination, but not C-19 vaccination, are now refusing the offer of flu vaccination;
- The financial cost where people book appointments which pharmacies are then not able to use to vaccinate them;
- The additional costs and wasted staff time from the time spent communicating with ineligible people, some of whom are distressed, angry or abusive;
- The emotional impact that these interactions can have on pharmacy teams, where members of the public are distressed, angry or abusive;
- The administrative costs where pharmacies are working to check eligibility and contact people in advance of appointments, to minimise disruption at the pharmacy; and
- The risks of leftover flu vaccine stock for pharmacies this year – and wider risks to the vaccination service next year if businesses purchase more cautiously in reaction to this year’s issues or choose not to participate in the winter vaccination programme at all.
a coworker punched my mother on the face, my mother was able to catch the other punches.
a hospital is a place for patience and healing, not violence, that coworker is unprofessional and unfit to work and must be terminated immediately. My mom has been in service for 45 years, she even went back to work during covid even though she was already retired, this is unacceptable.
a hospital is a place for patience and healing, not violence, that coworker is unprofessional and unfit to work and must be terminated immediately. My mom has been in service for 45 years, she even went back to work during covid even though she was already retired, this is unacceptable.
Keeping up with medical appointments and jumping through hoops to get services.
Maybe its my age or just my disposition, but it is getting harder to keep up. I am having a hysterocopy on Tuesday and went last Thursday for pre ops. The pre op experience, while not terrible, was long and required a few hours in total. So many tests!
Then after the procedure, I have to wait until the 5th November to find out if I have cancer or not.
My anxiety is pretty high tonight.
Maybe its my age or just my disposition, but it is getting harder to keep up. I am having a hysterocopy on Tuesday and went last Thursday for pre ops. The pre op experience, while not terrible, was long and required a few hours in total. So many tests!
Then after the procedure, I have to wait until the 5th November to find out if I have cancer or not.
My anxiety is pretty high tonight.
