to wonder why people in England have to pay for prescriptions

[AtYourCervix]

and in Scotland and Wales they are free?

How the fuck can that happen?

Nesta - it's not that scotland is more priviledged than the rest of the country - England is the only part of the UK where prescription charges exist, so technically it's England that is less priviledged.

In a democracy where it's voted in representatives who make these decisions then unltimately it is the voters who are responsible

This is nothing new. It's not a tory policy.

Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland now have their own Parliaments/Assemblies and a certain amount of devolved power. They can make certain decisions at a local level, rather than go along with what the British Parliament in London decides.

Along with this devolved power comes the opportunity to decide what they spend their health budget on. All 3 countries have decided to fully subsidise the cost of prescriptions but this will be to the detriment of something else within the Health Budget.

is it not about how each country decides to spend its money ie what it prioritises? each country has a pot of money and for certain things they decide how it is spent

i live in northern ireland and although we get them free i disagree with it. i am not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but i can afford my own prescriptions! have friends who are pharmacists who tell incredible stories of people coming in to get sunscreen (and no its not for someone with a specific skin condition before i get flamed)

our small country can't afford this luxury

certainly give out free prescriptions for the young, elderly, unemployed, cancer patients, etc buy full time employed people? its crazy

as a point of principle i buy calpol when the children need it. friends think i am crazy but it drives me insane when i think of the amount of repeat prescriptions that must be used on this alone. we have old people dying as they can't afford to heat their houses, something wrong somewhere

It's one of the many anomalies arising from devolution - we've got this hybrid solution where some things are universal across the UK, and others are not. It was warned about at the time. I have to say, it seems to me that Scotland (in particular) and Wales did rather better out of devolution than England, but it would be daft to get chippy about that - they obviously negotiated the best deal they could, and the people in those countries were sensible enough to elect MPs/MSPs who were committed to universal benefits and public services. Whereas in the South of England, where I live, people do keep voting for Tories like turkeys for Christmas [wanders off, whistling the Internationale].

i think i am more outraged by the thought of free prescriptions for people who can afford them than the fact that it's different in England. What a blooody waste.

But what really gets my goat is that English MP's are not allowed to vote on policies which are specific to Wales, Scotland, NI, but Welsh, Scottish and NI MP's are allowed to vote on policies which only effect England. If I remember correctly the only reason why the Labour Govt managed to get through charging fees for University in the first place was with the help of the Scottish MP's and Scotland doesn't pay for it.

Yanbu

Atyourcervix - but couldn't you say that about any NHS Treatment? Why is a prescription (which is a core part of NHS care) any different from any other treatment at a GPs or Hospital which is free? If NHS is to be means tested then it should apply across the board. However, if you believe in an NHS free at the point of use then surely all NHS treatment should be free at the point of use?

I agree that only English MPs should be allowed to vote on devolved issues in England.

To be honest the whole devolution thing has been an utter farce.

How the politician's thought that they could successfully do this without answering the West Lothian question is beyond me.

How taxes are distributed between the regions is worked out using the Barnett Formula and basically NI, Wales & Scotland do rather well out of it. Yes there are geography issues but I think even taking those into account, the regions do way better than England which has plenty of rural areas itself.

Basically England subsidises the other regions. It's grossly unfair and left uncheck I do fear that one day it will lead to the breakup of the union. Whether that's a good thing or not I guess will depend on your political views.

In my opinion, if Scotland want to be independent then go for it. At the moment they (understandably) want to be free of control from London but happily taking the extra cash thrown at them.

west lothian question

whoops - cross post

i know gin. but lets face it, a free NHS doesn't and hasn't ever worked. it's too big and too costly. just seems that prescription charges are an obvious answer to saving a bit of cash.

Why? Because they cost the nhs a lot and mostly are cheaper than buying the meds over the counter. I'm more concerned about them being free in Wales and Scotland TBH. The occasional prescription isn't going to break the usual family budget let's face it. I am spending about 10 a month on prescriptions atm but am going to see about a pre-payment scheme. I don't think I am usual though.

But NHS with free prescriptions is working (at the moment) in 3 countries in UK. I think that the amount of funding saved is pretty minimal given that the majority of prescriptions are given to people who are exempt from charges and the prescription charge doesn't come near to meeting the cost of most drugs

It should be the same across the board. The problem is that variations are starting to appear such as free prescriptions, lower/free student tuition and all in reality subsidised for by the very people who can't actually take advantage of the same.

There will be a point where the straw breaks the camel's back. It's just a matter of when.

The population in England is sooooo much bigger than Scotland and Wales altogether. The cost would just be immense.

However having said that, I do think this is hugely unfair. I don't believe they should be free for us here in Scotland at all. Obviously for Children, OAPs, and those on Benefits I think yes. But for the rest I think it's completely insane, especially when it's £7.20 in England.

I was shocked when we moved to Wales recently and discovered I didnt have to pay for my prescriptions anymore. I queried it at the pharmacy when they said.

We must have been in Scotland before this (1995 -2002) because I always paid there.

I was ill last year on holiday in Cornwall and they actually queried if I should pay as I live in Wales. Anyway it was medicine dispensed by OOH A&E and they had no facilities to accept payment from anyone, so were sending bills out to anyone who used the service. They told me not to worry if I didnt get a bill as I was a welsh resident. My bill did arrive though and I promptly paid.

What I have noticed in Wales is that I have to wait longer to have hospital referrals to breast clinic than in England and we have no wheelie bins or recycling bins of any kind - not sure that matches the prescription costs but I do miss my wheelie bin. Its the first place in the UK we have lived in the last 14 years (and we have lived all over) that we have not had a wheelie bin.

gin - no-one knows how well it's working in Scotland yet and it depends on how much it is taken advantage of

the free prescriptions under 16 is, free calpol and infacol for babies and what have you

Speaking on behalf of the Prescription Charges Coalition, Asthma UK chief executive Neil Churchill said: "We welcome this decision which shows that with a strong political will you can meet patient expectations even in tough financial times.

"We know that a shocking 42% of people in England with long-term health conditions who pay for their prescriptions say they sometimes go without medication because of the cost.

from here

The cost may be immense but how about averaging it out. So everyone pays the same lower amount.

"We know that a shocking 42% of people in England with long-term health conditions who pay for their prescriptions say they sometimes go without medication because of the cost."

but surely the most logical answer to that is to expand which conditions qualify for free prescriptions - which I'd not object to

The last time I went to the doctors my prescription was for ibuprofen - why on earth should that be free? I can't for the life of me understand why most people need free prescriptions

Yes, England subsidises Scotland and Wales, ie they receive more than they pay in to central government. On the other hand, even pre the scottish parliament and welsh assembly, and the serious support for the nationalist parties, neither Scotland nor Wales voted in Conservative governments- they didn't return a Conservative majority of MPs.

Erm - what about all the English students taking advantage of no tuition fees in Scotland?

The conditions list for free prescriptions in Engliand is ridiculous.
I have foregone my asthma medication in the past because I couldn't afford the prescription. Breathing is expensive.

Diabetics get free prescriptions because their condition causes expensive long term health problems. Astmatics don't get free prescriptions because their condition causes, in a worst case scenario, death.
Ergo asthmatics are cheaper in the long-run not to fund.