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Stoma Bag Supply Question

Onlyfoolsandhorses
  • 1 reply
  • 44 subscribers
  • 176 views

Hello

Do you pay for stoma bags albeit for a temporary period of time after having a colon tumour removed? I live in the South East of England.

  • Hi Onlyfoolsandhorses

    Thanks for getting in touch with us. My name is  Tricia and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

    I hope your treatment for your bowel (colon) cancer has gone well or goes well in the future if you are preparing for surgery. It does take some adjustment coping with life with a  stoma but hopefully you have the full support of a stoma nurse for any concerns going forward.

    In England you get free prescriptions when you have cancer and you can get the medical exemption certificate from your GP, pharmacy or cancer care clinic. It will need to be signed by a GP or hospital doctor.

    You can get your stoma bags prescribed by the GP and sometimes the stoma nurses can do the initial order for you. This applies for anyone with a diagnosis of cancer, whether the stoma is temporary or permanent, so you won’t have to pay. The prescription is often sent directly to a home delivery service, or a pharmacy and the bags will be dispensed for you.

    Your  Stoma Nurse should have set you up initially and can let you know about home delivery services, if that is your preference. It can work well with just one contact with them, they do the request to GP to get the prescription sent straight to them before sending the bags and products straight to your home. If you prefer to deal with the pharmacy instead, again the prescriptions can be sent direct. Either way should provide you a smoother process for accessing your stoma products.

    I hope you have support from family and friends during your cancer treatment as  cancer can affect you emotionally  Some people find it useful to speak to others who have cancer or a stoma and we have an  Ileostomy, colostomy and stoma forum as well as a Bowel (colon and rectal) cancer forum

    I hope this is helpful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch at any time.

    Sending best wishes,

     

    Tricia
    Macmillan Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

    You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. 

     Ref : TT/JH

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