Prescription charges, HPV vaccine, tattoos, cycle helmets
Inside Health
BBC
4.4 • 575 Ratings
🗓️ 3 April 2012
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Should prescriptions be free for everyone? They already are in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland - so why aren't they in England? The BMA says the current list of exemptions is unfair and outdated - but there are no government plans to scrap the charges for the 10% of people who have to pay for them.
And as the vaccination campaign for young girls against the virus which causes cervical cancer and genital warts gains momentum - are boys losing out? Uptake of the vaccine among teenage girls in the UK is high - but there are no plans to extend the programme to boys - despite plans to do so in Australia and the United States.
There are confusing statistics surrounding the debate over the use of bicycle helmets for both adults and children. Some research points to helmets encouraging car drivers to give cyclists less space in traffic. Up to a third of children in another study said wearing a helmet would put them off cycling in the first place - bad news for parents concerned about childhood obesity. GP Margaret McCartney uses her own risk analysis to work out how to keep herself safe and fit.
Producer: Paula McGrath.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, I'm Greg Jenna and good news, Your Dead to Me is back for a new series. Here we go. Yes, we'll explore Emperor Nero's notorious reign with Professor Marybeard and Patton Oswald. I would not want my daughter having the remote control, not alone an empire. We'll dissect the decadent life of Philippe Duke-Dor-Leon with Tom Allen. I've often tried to pretend I'm an aristocrat and being very quickly knocked down. |
| 0:23.1 | And there'll be so much more with comedians like Olga Koch, Mike Mosniak and Ria Elena. |
| 0:27.0 | I'm excited. |
| 0:27.6 | You're dead to me, the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. |
| 0:31.0 | Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:33.1 | This is a download from the BBC. |
| 0:35.2 | To find out more, visit BBC.com.ukuk slash radio four. |
| 0:40.8 | Hello and welcome to Inside Health in today's program, Boys and HPV vaccine for cancer of the cervix. Are they missing out on other benefits? |
| 0:49.7 | Cycling. The weather may not be so good this week, but the combination of last week's glorious sunshine and the start of the Easter holidays has seen many a family dusting off their bikes. |
| 0:59.1 | But how many of you wear helmets? |
| 1:01.5 | Our resident cyclist, Dr Margaret McCartney, has a novel, evidence-based approach to headgear. |
| 1:06.9 | And talking of families, if any of your relatives are considering a tattoo, they might want to listen to Max Pemberton's report. |
| 1:13.5 | Some are more permanent than others, and it's all down to the colours you choose. |
| 1:17.8 | Girly colours, you know. |
| 1:19.0 | So you've got some bright purples there, some pinks, quite a lot of green, kind of aquamarine greens and blues. |
| 1:25.7 | It's just generally just kind of colours which fit together and look nice. |
| 1:29.4 | But first, outdated and unfair, those are the accusations often levelled at prescription charges, |
| 1:35.5 | which, if you live in England, went up 25p this week to £7.65 per item. |
| 1:41.3 | Listeners in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland already benefit from free prescriptions |
| 1:45.2 | and many doctors in England think we should follow suit. Richard Vortri, Deputy Chair of the GP |
| 1:50.0 | Committee at the British Medical Association is one of them. We accept that only a small proportion |
| 1:55.3 | of the people now pay for their prescriptions. The vast majority of people are exempt. But for those people who do have to pay, |
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