Pharmacists call for England's prescription charges to be scrapped

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 00:28 · Archive

Pharmacy leaders are calling for prescription charges in England to be abolished, citing a poll showing one in ten patients have gone without medicine due to cost.

Pharmacy leaders and charities have launched a campaign calling for prescription charges in England to be scrapped. A survey of 1,781 adults carried out by Savanta for the National Pharmacy Association found that one in ten people have gone without prescribed medicine in the last year because of the cost, whilst 12% delayed collecting prescriptions for financial reasons. The survey also showed that 79% of the public consider it 'unfair' that patients in England must pay for medication, whereas those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not.

The National Pharmacy Association, which represents around 6,000 community pharmacies, has described the current system as a 'cruel tax on illness'. Chairman Olivier Picard said the policy was a 'national scandal' and that no patient should see cost as a barrier to accessing medicine. He called on the Chancellor to bring England into line with the rest of the UK by scrapping the charges.

Prescription charges were abolished in Wales in 2007, Northern Ireland in 2010 and Scotland in 2011. In England, the standard charge for an individual prescription item currently stands at £9.90, though exemptions apply to under 16s, those aged 16 to 18 in full-time education, those aged 60 and over, benefit claimants and patients with certain qualifying medical conditions.

How it is being reported

• Campaign to ban NHS prescription charges in England as poll shows people can’t afford themPharmacists and charities are demanding prescription charges are scrapped like they have been in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where medicines are freeThe Mirror · 22 Oct, 00:02
• Prescription charges in England should be scrapped, experts sayThe NPA said that prescription charges are a ‘cruel tax on illness’ as they called on the Chancellor to scrap the charges in the upcoming BudgetThe Independent · 22 Oct, 00:01

In this story: National Pharmacy Association · England · Scotland · Wales · Northern Ireland · Olivier Picard

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