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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be shocked about getting a bill from A&E in the NHS?!

137 replies

threeleftfeet · 30/05/2012 16:09

I took my friend to A&E a few weeks ago as she suffered an rare and extreme reaction to some antibiotics she was on.

(She got seen quicker than anyone I've ever seen in A&E. Apparently passing out on the front desk gets you seen quickly! Seriously though, she was not at all well.)

They kept her in for a night, did all sorts of tests, diagnosed her with a rare reaction to the antibiotics, gave her new antibiotics to replace the ones she'd been on, and sent her on her way in the morning.

Now, three weeks later she's received a bill in the post which demands payment for the medicine at the standard NHS prescription rate. It demands payments within 14 days, with the threat that they'll send it to a debt collection agency and add on a fiver if not received by then Shock

There was no mention of payment in the hospital. My friend is exempt from charges anyway, which they would have known if they'd but asked.

What happened to free on the point of delivery? I know we pay for prescription charges, but she was given the drugs in the hospital, this is a new one on me.

AIBU to be Shock at this?

OP posts:
Original poster
threeleftfeet · 30/05/2012 21:10

materrules it's interesting that you and some other medical professionals haven't heard of this, that means it's not happening everywhere (thankfully!)

I reckon that must mean it's happening on a hospital by basis, rather than as a new policy, and like some have suggested possibly as part of a belt-tightening exercise.

OP posts:
SauvignonBlanche · 30/05/2012 21:12

It is a relatively new policy in England, not all hospitals are enforcing it yet.

maxpower · 30/05/2012 21:14

I've not come across this before (and as I work in NHS complaints, I'm fairly sure if it was common practice someone would have complained to me about it by now!)

I can understand that if the A&E dr wrote her a prescription to be collected and taken as an outpatient, you would expect to be charged. But I would expect to be charged when it was dispensed, not by post a few weeks later. If this becomes common practice, all that will happen is patients attending A&E will start giving false addresses (not that I'm cynical or anything)

Original poster
threeleftfeet · 30/05/2012 21:14

Really? Sad

What worries me is that it's a sign of the NHS being picked apart, and that we'll see more of this kind of thing. Do you think that's the case SauvignonBlanche?

OP posts:
giveitago · 30/05/2012 21:17

It's all changed now

My dh who's an eu national and worked here for 20 years was actually questioned about his eligibility at his last gp appointment (been with that gp 10 years).

I also took my then 3 year old to A&E in my mum's town (in UK - our homeland and we are nationals from birth) and they were basically saying we were non resident (in that town) and would be billed! Yikes.

WhiteWidow · 30/05/2012 21:18

That's ridiculous.

When I was last in they gave me medication for free before I went home. They even asked me did I have any pain relief at home, when I said no they threw some co cocodamol in and said it was so I didn't have to pay!

SauvignonBlanche · 30/05/2012 21:19

No, I don't at all.
I am much more concerned about other aspects of the Health Bill such as GP commissioning.

rhetorician · 30/05/2012 21:22

well here (Ireland) all visits to A&E cost a flat rate (?100 I think, though this varies from hospital to hospital), unless you are admitted, or referred by a GP. This applies to babies and children, as well as adults. I can't ever get used to it (born and grew up in UK)

Original poster
threeleftfeet · 30/05/2012 21:27

"I also took my then 3 year old to A&E in my mum's town (in UK - our homeland and we are nationals from birth) and they were basically saying we were non resident (in that town) and would be billed! Yikes."

That's really worrying. Did they actually bill you?

OP posts:
Moln · 30/05/2012 21:31

It's a 100 in all hospitals rhetoricain - possible more in private hospitals though.

If you were refered by a GP there's no charge - apart from the GP charge that is of course, which can be ?50-?65 depending on what the GP choses t charge

It's then ?75 a night in a public ward.

drugs cost whatever they cost, and can vary depending on the pharmacist

can't get used to it myself either (I was also born and grew up in England). I loathe having to pay for my sick children to get medical care, I really do.

WhiteWidow · 30/05/2012 21:33

You get CHARGED for going to a&e?!!!

When I've had to go to hospital the last thing I've wanted to worry about is footing the bill! I wonder how many people actually suffer because they can't afford it?

rhetorician · 30/05/2012 21:33

moin well exactly - paying for myself is one thing (although I do pay loads of tax and have health insurance), but it sticks in my craw to look at a 7 week old baby and think, is she sick enough for me to fork out ?55? but we digress...

frumpet · 30/05/2012 21:37

So she was an inpatient and then given meds to take home , a replacement to the meds that she had the reaction to . Hardly fair to charge if she had had to pay for the first lot of drugs , although i realise she is excempt .

frumpet · 30/05/2012 21:40

Have to say that i have never heard of inpatients being charged for their TTO's , but as another stealth tax , it wouldnt suprise me in the least .

Moln · 30/05/2012 21:41

They do WhiteWidow - though you can get a medical card (no charge then) - pretty bloomiing low income to qualify for it. As always there are those who just don't qualify and they suffer because they don't have the money to get treated.

Money comes from taxes too - honestly it should be the same as the NHS really but it's not.

We are digressing I know, but I hope this isn't where the NHS is heading too ?55 to get a GP to look at your sick child means you have to weigh up if they are really sick enough to be taken

oldraver · 30/05/2012 21:43

I cant understand why my GP will only give a prescription for four weeks, yet I know other areas you can get up to three months. There was a thread on MN where a poster said she couldn't have her usual 12 months of prescription but was only given three months. I dont know why there is such varaition. My GP juts says "thats how we do it"

SauvignonBlanche · 30/05/2012 21:49

Inpatients are not charged for TTOs, only day cases i.e. those in for less than 24hrs.

AnyoneforTurps · 30/05/2012 22:04

Patients who are admitted to a ward are not charged for medication on discharge because the costs of these are included in the charges that the PCT pays the hospital for their care.

The hospital does not receive any funding for medication prescribed in A&E so prescription charges are payable, just as for GP prescriptions. This has been the case since at least 1998 when I first worked in A&E.

But, if the OP's friend is exempt from prescription charges, she shouldn't pay. I'd suggest she rings the PALS service at the hospital concerned.

Original poster
threeleftfeet · 30/05/2012 22:06

If this has been the case for so long, do you know why it seems most people in fact aren't charged for medicine given in A&E?

I certainly have never heard of this before. Prescriptions which you have to pay for, yes, but not medicine to be billed later.

OP posts:
AnyoneforTurps · 30/05/2012 22:21

You don't get charged for drugs given during your A&E visit, but you do get charged for drugs prescribed by an A&E doctor for you to use at home.

And I'm not defending the policy, I'm just saying it's not new, so don't shoot the messenger.

strictlycomedancingdiva · 30/05/2012 22:26

As pointed out it is standard practice to charge. Smaller hospitals cannot afford the machines for paying in A&E, and A&E staff do not usually have the time or appropriate surroundings for handling cash. Therefore if you are in A&E outside of the hospital pharmacy hours you will be sent a bill. Additionally the administration cost of chasing prescription debts is pretty high, hence why the tone of the letter is so strong. Unpaid prescription costs are quite costly to the NHS. However, I do agree that communications whilst at the hospital could have been improved.

Sirzy · 30/05/2012 22:27

It seems pretty obvious that different hopsitals have different policies but that more are understandbly moving towards people paying

Doha · 30/05/2012 23:10

Bloody hell, what a minefield.
Glad l live in Scotland Smile

sashh · 31/05/2012 05:14

I've never heard of that before. In principle it's obviously fine, but I would think they should have told you at the time what to expect.

It is possible that the A/E staff don't know this is the case.

I remember a few years ago taking a Jordanian friend to A/E - she knew the antibiotics she needed but couldn't buy them over the counter. It was the weekend and the evening, at that time, there wasn't a walk in clinic.

A/E gave her the antibiotics but then asked if she needed to pay for prescriptions (she was a student and her visa did allow her NHS treatment) neither of us knew but we got the impression the A/E staff thought they had better things to do than collect money so suggested we leave with them without paying.

So I think the 'you get free pills in the hospital, you pay if it is a prescription to take home' as ben going on for a while.

SofiaAmes · 31/05/2012 05:20

At least they had drugs to give her. Some years ago, dh cut his arm on a chop saw and they checked him out of the hospital after 50 !!!! stitches with no pain killers at all because they had run out. It was a Friday afternoon and they suggested he call his gp on monday to get some. Luckily I had some left from a foot operation and managed to keep him pain free.

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