Should prescriptions be free for the whole UK?

[JPreston]

Nah, I reckon there are better ways to spend that money within the NHS, A&E and in-patient treatments and the like.

Instead, everyone should pay for prescriptions. If 89% of prescriptions are currently free, then charge everyone without exception £0.75 for a prescription, you'd generate about the same amount of money.

This does mean that disabled grannies on job seeker's allowance etc would have to pay a token charge for medication which may or may not be necessary for their continued survival, but is this really such a big deal? They already have to pay for their food, which definitely is a prerequisite for survival. At £7.10 we've got plenty of people having to choose which of their prescriptions to fill (imagine your doctor gives your four at once, would you really fill them all?), at £0.75 this wouldn't be an issue.

[danroyle]

i am part of the 89% that doesn't have to pay for our prescriptions which is handy i wouldn't pay £7.10 for a prescription although i understand that if they give them free to all 450 mil will be missing from the nhs funds.

[lodore]

I agree with the idea of everyone having to pay.
surely since someplaces arent paying we are paying more?
My mum works in a pharmacy (morrisons) so I had this discussion the other day.

[Aelred89]

Similar to lodore, my mum is a dispenser for Boots in a less than affluent town and I think I remember her saying that around 95% of their prescriptions are given away free I'm currently a university student in more debt than you can shake a stick at and would have to pay £7.10 a pop if I ever got ill! I agree that a universal tarriff of say £1 per prescription would make a lot more sense. Not meaning to sound stuck up or conform to stereotyping but most people on benefits waste more than a couple of quid a week either smoking, drinking or gambling so it shouldn't be an issue.

[Saracen]

One thing people need to bear in mind is that not all needs for prescriptions are equal, and nor are all people's financial circumstances.

For instance, getting a prescription for a cough syrup to soothe a sore throat (and I've known GPs issue such), is one thing, but a lot of prescriptions are to treat medical conditions without which the patient would suffer a seriously increased risk of dying. In addition, some medications seriously reduce the risk of very nasty (and expensive) treatments, like chemotherapy or cancer surgery.

It is quite conceivable to have someone with a very modest income that doesn't receive any benefits, yet has a serious and chronic condition requiring long-term treatment without which they may die, and yet they pay for prescriptions. There are also people for whom prescription charges are trivial, and yet they get free prescriptions because of the condition.

Whether we get free prescriptions or not isn't the only issue. Another one is whether free prescriptions are based on both medical need and inability to pay.

[0iD]

My main bone of contention is still that there should be a parity throughout the UK, regardless. Otherwise we're sliding down the road to a similar situation to the provincial vs federal law scenario.

[Aelred89]

One thing people need to bear in mind is that not all needs for prescriptions are equal, and nor are all people's financial circumstances.

For instance, getting a prescription for a cough syrup to soothe a sore throat (and I've known GPs issue such), is one thing, but a lot of prescriptions are to treat medical conditions without which the patient would suffer a seriously increased risk of dying. In addition, some medications seriously reduce the risk of very nasty (and expensive) treatments, like chemotherapy or cancer surgery.

It is quite conceivable to have someone with a very modest income that doesn't receive any benefits, yet has a serious and chronic condition requiring long-term treatment without which they may die, and yet they pay for prescriptions. There are also people for whom prescription charges are trivial, and yet they get free prescriptions because of the condition.

Whether we get free prescriptions or not isn't the only issue. Another one is whether free prescriptions are based on both medical need and inability to pay.

This is a fair point, I think that some sort of necessity scale needs to be implemented, i mean a prescription for cough medicine or pain killers is just plain ridiculous.

Edit: Removed my angry ramblings about pharmaceutical companies

[j.o.s.h.1408]

what qualifies u to not pay for prescription?

[Steve A]

I also understand that cancer is being added to the list of conditions which will result in at least some entitlement.

Sorry i got this far and got too annoyed to carry on reading.

This just about sums up todays society. If your an unemployeed bum, and i mean the ones that cba to get a job rather than the people are unable to work for "Valid" reasons.

Bums get it free as well as there free house and council Tax

People who are Terminally i'll are entitled to "Some" .... errr ok

And i know there is a thin line here, people who are Terminally i'll may well fall into the "CBA" bracket, however it still makes me mad that the real people get the short straw.

My feeling is that we should all have to pay one price albeit a lower price than it is now maybe £4-£5 and the people who pay national insurance as well should get a rebate at the end of the tax year, or something along those line as in all fairness if you pay national insurance you are paying for this twice is some ways.

I know people may not agree with me but this is only my opinion

Peace Out!!!!

[Aelred89]

Sorry i got this far and got too annoyed to carry on reading.

This just about sums up todays society. If your an unemployeed bum, and i mean the ones that cba to get a job rather than the people are unable to work for "Valid" reasons.

Bums get it free as well as there free house and council Tax

People who are Terminally i'll are entitled to "Some" .... errr ok

And i know there is a thin line here, people who are Terminally i'll may well fall into the "CBA" bracket, however it still makes me mad that the real people get the short straw.

My feeling is that we should all have to pay one price albeit a lower price than it is now maybe £4-£5 and the people who pay national insurance as well should get a rebate at the end of the tax year, or something along those line as in all fairness if you pay national insurance you are paying for this twice is some ways.

I know people may not agree with me but this is only my opinion

Peace Out!!!!

I totally agree with what you said. The lazy spongers in today's society really do get too easy a ride imho. Fair enough if you are between jobs and need a little help but there are people in situations where they would lose money by getting a job! I think the entire benefits system needs an overhaul.

[TickledPink]

Similar to lodore, my mum is a dispenser for Boots in a less than affluent town and I think I remember her saying that around 95% of their prescriptions are given away free I'm currently a university student in more debt than you can shake a stick at and would have to pay £7.10 a pop if I ever got ill! I agree that a universal tarriff of say £1 per prescription would make a lot more sense. Not meaning to sound stuck up or conform to stereotyping but most people on benefits waste more than a couple of quid a week either smoking, drinking or gambling so it shouldn't be an issue.

Students should get it free. The same with NHS dental treatment.

I'm Welsh and live in Cardiff, so I get prescriptions free. However, when I was a law student between 2002 and 2006, I couldn't get NHS dental treatment and couldn't afford the exhorbitant fees. As a result, all the fillings that came out in that time went unrepaired and most of those teeth have since broken. I'm only now getting some remedial work done as an NHS patient.

Paying £7.10 for each item is extortion. Items should be placed on as few prescriptions as possible and you then pay for each prescription, not each item on it.

[DJ_Enigma]

I think it's digusting that some things cost more on prescription than they do to buy over the counter! Always get the chemist saying, "it's actually just cheaper to buy that" luckily they have some morals!

[how1]

I think it is a good idea to let everyone get prescriptions for free.................except for the English!!! lol

[thestjohn]

I believe the reason some prescriptions for items which can be purchased over the counter work out more expensive than if you just straight purchase the item is due to the fact that it is a standard charge. For example, (and these are 2006 prices as I only have an old BNF), a 30 pack of generic co-codamol you could have bought yourself would have cost the NHS only £1.19, but 30 tablets of Zyban (a drug prescribed to help people stop smoking) would have cost £19.91. So supposedly it balances out.

Flicking through the BNF, although outdated, shows me that most drugs would cost under what is charged under the prescription charge system, but there's a few that cost a hell of a lot more. Pretty much any proprietary cancer drug does, for example.

[Blitzen]

What really grinds my gears is that students have to pay for meds, but lazy arse scum don't

Back on form i see.
Poor students never get anything eh???

For a young man that likes to profess his wealth and intelligence so much, your narrow mindedness never ceases to amaze me.
People like you are far worse than the 'lazy arse scum' you hate so much.

[JPreston]

To be fair students can't go out and work full-time and in the future will be beneficial to the economy, whereas long-term unemployed have all the time in the world to find a job and earn their prescription fees but do not have to, instead getting paid to sit and do nothing today and for the foreseeable future.

People in full-time education should be entitled to all the benefits that people on JSA get, and they will still be cheaper because they won't be getting JSA!

Remember that under JPreston's shariah law set out above there will be no more free prescriptions, but the charge will be £0.75 .