NICE goes in hard on pubic health?

Following on from the White Paper and the increasing role of NICE in deciding the new targets, sorry comrade, outcomes, a little piece in the GP magazine Pulse caught our caught our eye and after consuming some fermented organic chemical containing beverages led to a few thoughts.

So the Party, after restricting drugs for erectile dysfunction (ED) to only certain worthy groups of ED sufferers, while allowing any spotty Herbert to have anti acne drugs, for we all know that sex is purely for reproductive purposes, is now going to set targets to “incentivise” GPs to prescribe drugs for ED. A slight change there from a policy of proscription to one now of prescription?

Oh misses titter ye not but before you all get excited you ‘orrible little dirty buggers, the article goes on to say a pilot will test 4 new “indicators” to incentivise (its that word again) practices to case find and prescribe treatment for ED in men with diabetes . . .

“Private Nobbings you has diabetes and a touch of the EDs get yourself off to the MO at the double for he ‘as an incentive to get you up ASAP! Left right left right . . .”

Pray tell what will the 4 new indicators be? Will there be new nurse or GP led new ED detection clinics (EDD Cs as opposed to Ed M)? How will success be measured? Will there be a new NICE ED scale similar to the MRC muscle weakness scale and will its units be in degrees or possibly mmHg?

The article goes onto say the aim will be to increase patient awareness and treatment of erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes.

Did we miss something but didn’t the marketing of the drug called Viagra do just that a few years ago? Clearly those up standing members of NICE spend absolutely no time in general practice for if they did they would know that men both with, and without, diabetes frequently come in not having read anything NICE and ask for treatment for ED?

We won’t use words like U-turn but the move from positively discouraging ED treatments to now actually suggesting sending out ED patrols to seek, find and treat with extreme prejudice all diabetic males with ED does raise a few titters here at ND Central.

Will these patrols go out shouting bring out your limp and floppy diabetic ones under cover of darkness or will it be the discrete under the counter brown envelope something for the weakend approach?

Perhaps somewhere in the ConDem coalition there has been a softening somewhere along the line of the members’ attitudes to this topic and someone has had a word with someone NICE to see if they could help them with their little problem?

Nudge nudge wink wink say no more. Where are Kenneth Williams and Frankie Howard when you need them most?

If ever there was a case for NICE being disbanded this is it. Put all ED drugs on FP10s for all patients 30 seconds worth of news on Gormless Moron TV sorry Daybreak and you will pick up more cases of ED in both diabetics and non diabetics than any QOF indicators and for a fraction of the cost.

Praise be to the Party for giving us something NICE to ponder upon after a few stiff drinks. We are sure there will be a lot of hard evidence for this approach and all those at NICE will once again present us with a solid shaft of evidence for these new QOF indicators. We did notice in the article that someone from NICE has had their name withdrawn at their request was this at the last moment as they thought better of their dalliance with matters sexual?