Minor ailment scheme thoughts?

[Oobis]

This has been in the news recently, essentially, minor conditions can be treated by a pharmacist who can supply medication for the price of a prescription rather than you paying retail price (think calpol and similar). Therefore, items like this for people who don't pay for prescriptions can be supplied free of charge.
I'm amazed at the strength and variety of feelings amongst my peer group. Some think it's fabulous and they weren't aware, but others say if you can afford to buy this stuff, you should buy it and save the nhs some money. What are your thoughts? Obviously this is not a means tested scheme - should you use it if you could afford to buy or do you think as childrens' prescriptions are free that it is ok to get this stuff for free?
I'm not trying to start a fight, I'm just interested in your thoughts. www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Pharmacy/Pages/Commonconditions.aspx

I buy thrush medicine online. I get it from Chemist Direct, it's £1.99 for the oral tablet and £2.19 for the cream. I keep some in just incase.

Me too TheFairy. I was buying it from Boots a bit too regularly for myself and DP at one point. It was about £20! Now I've found Chemist Direct and keep some in the cupboard just in case so I don't need to pay 24 hour chemist prices if it strikes.

If people are visiting the doctor to be prescribed something like CALPOL when (IMO) it's quite obvious when that's what your child needs, you're costing the NHS a lot more money than the price of the bottle of calpol! Boots do cheaper own brand versions AND you get advantage card points for non-prescribed calpol, paracetamol, etc. plus supermarkets do cheaper own brand versions. You should pay for it unless you are really, really desperate.

Or unless the school refuses to administer it without it being prescribed. Discopanda, as chicken said upthread.

This BBC article clears up some of the confusion that seems to have arisen

What's the truth about free NHS calpol

Onecurrantbun I recently had to get some antibs on private prescription (the joys of specialist private dentists). 3 day course, one tablet a day. I thought it would be extortionate too but was only £2.50.

I live in Scotland and have used this ...it is kind of standard . Go to the local pharmacy for something like Ovex and you get it for free (had to pay for adults -but now with free prescription charge I get given enough for the adults too). Guess it makes sense because it isn't cheap so you might be tempted not to bother treating the adults/symptomless children -which would cost the NHS more in the long run...
I have had free 'calpol' - DD2 had something else wrong and it was put on the prescription by GP -with ABs maybe? Anyway the 'calpol' got knocked over and spilt. Went back the next day to buy more and the pharmacist recognised me and asked why I was buying more. Explained and he told me that I couldn't really get it on minor ailments but he would sell the NHS non-branded stuff for what they paid - £1.50 for a huge bottle (too much really - problem I have with a lot of medicines though is we don't use them and they go out of date) .
I later went back to get some more just for in stock (had gone out of date) and it was the relief pharmacist. Even over the counter generic stuff was twice the price, I showed the bottle and asked for the same -and she said I couldn't have it on minor ailments and wouldn't sell it to me - and then put it on minor ailments...
The other thing apart from freeing up GPs appts is that they know what you are taking. If you were getting large amounts of calpol they would know and want to know why. We used to get recurrent thread worms and the pharmacist could see we had had them 5 times in less than a year -so had a chat about hygiene etc and whether I was sure it was thread worms. (Conclusion was DD1 was a nail biter and more than likely someone in her class was a symptom less carrier) Just realised that would have been £80 in Ovex in less than a year ... a lot to spend for some.

Also I was on a 75mg aspirin a day for 15+ yrs - I used to buy them -cost me less than half the prescription charge. When free prescriptions came in the pharmacist told me I should be getting them on prescription now -I thought its £2 a month, I can afford it. It was the GP when I was having stomach issues who said I should get them on prescription - they had it on my record that I took it but it didn't appear under my current medications -they had no idea whether I was still taking it or not. And in case of accident (I couldn't speak) they wouldn't know. (I did carry a homemade card though in my purse ...but still)

The whole system is bollocks. If people need non prescription medicine for their children then that's what child benefit is for!

Ulster Chemists' Association
MINOR AILMENTS CLARIFICATION
How to use your health service ?#?ChooseWell? :: www.nidirect.gov.uk/choosewell

You may have seen some information on the internet over the last few days about the Minor Ailments Scheme. Contrary to some of the comments, the scheme, as offered in Northern Ireland, does NOT cover coughs, colds and temperatures and does NOT provide free Calpol or Nurofen
The scheme supports the use of ‘self-care’ and allows you to obtain treatment free-of-charge for a range of minor ailments without the need to book an appointment with your GP. You can simply call in to any participating pharmacy for a consultation.
To be eligible for this service you need to be:
• Over the age of three months
• Registered with a GP in Northern Ireland
Only the following conditions can be treated under the scheme:
• Athlete’s foot
• Diarrhoea
• Headlice
• Jock Itch
• Threadworms
• Vaginal thrush
• Cold sores
• Ear wax
• Mouth ulcers
• Oral thrush
Alternatively, you may purchase an ‘over the counter’ medication should your issue not be listed above.
N.B. Treatment is provided at the discretion of the pharmacist should it be deemed necessary.

^that sums up the position in Northern Ireland

I wouldn't use it, I pay taxes and we're living in the overdraft and I still won't over burger the NHS just because I can :/

And I voted Tory.

*over burger lol mean't to be burden

Like many people here (not read the full thread) I think it's a great scheme for people on benefits or low income,calpol etc can be expensive and can make a dent in a small weekly budget. Personally I can afford to pay for it and therefore have never registered for the service.

But then like another poster said i'm in Scotland and dont agree with free prescriptions for all either. Again low incomes etc should have them,but even charging everyone else a few quid per item would save the NHS a bloody fortune. I'm also a type 1 diabetic so appreciate getting my insulin etc free but if I have a completly unrelated illness,a chest infection for example,why the hell shouldnt I pay for my antibiotic prescription?

I'm in Scotland and have been told I'm a mug for buying my own Sudocrem.

Bloody ridiculous situation.

I think MAS is a way of dealing with the issue of overuse of GPs and A&E which are much more expensive than offering this as an alternative (GP hour £125, prescription cost per consultation £42, attendance at A&E £113, attendance at A&E no investigation/significant treatment £66).

I had no idea this was so controversial as we've been using it for eczema treatments for my two for three years. I don't use it for calpol or plasters or anything else but if I had to pay for every lotion and potion and cream and steroid for the kids then I'd run out of child benefit pretty quickly. The Dr happily prescribes it for us, and has put some things on a repeat recently for us. I fail to see how a repeat script is any more or less of a drain on NHS resources than me getting it from the same pharmacy via MAS. And given I don't have to take up a GP appt to do it I'll keep doing it.

Toria where a child has an ongoing problem that can be helped by the pharmacist rather than the GP it makes perfect sense.

When I hear relatively well-off people recommending it as a way to get their normal medicine cabinet fully stocked for free it becomes controversial imo.

But the blurb I've read says "If you, or your child are entitled to free prescriptions...." So surely there's an eligibility criteria to begin with? That's why I understood it to be about reducing GP/A&E attendances.

to get their normal medicine cabinet fully stocked for free
You only get things free if you get free prescriptions anyway...and I think this is no different to what some older people on free repeat prescriptions do - get painkillers etc for their family. My mum used to help old people and saw this quite a bit. And there was no secret about it. One day one asked my mum if she could pick up a repeat for her - for paracetamol - no real hurry, her niece still had some but had said she could do with some more. (My mum was annoyed most that the niece (40/50yo, entitled) couldn't even go to the trouble to pick it up herself! - was expecting someone in their 80s to go out for it!)

Wonderful if people genuinely can't afford it, that a service like this exists, but I hate to see abuse of such services. I pay for paracetamol/ibuprofen suspension, Ovex and the like because they are a medicine cabinet staple and it doesn't break the bank to do so.

to get their medicine cabinet stocked for free
This service is not designed to do that and pharmacists are meant to administer it in such a way as to ensure that. For example, to get the Calpol equivalent you are supposed to have the child with you and the child is supposed to need the medicine at that time (so you are meant to go to the pharmacy in just the same way as you would to the surgery)

Incidentally I know our GP surgery gets calls from parents asking for basic medicines to be prescribed for store cupboard purposes and always refuses, saying NHS prescriptions are to treat illness now, not to save money on things that might never be needed. This scheme should be the same

It's a drain on resources and a waste of NHS money. If a parent can't afford a bottle of calpol then they need far more intervention from professionals than a free prescription.

It's no better than wasting a doctors time for similar items just to avoid paying.

I live in Scotland. I do not use the system as it just does not feel right to do so. I can afford a coffee out therefore I can afford calpol.

rooner interested in how you don't use the system ...from this thread I have been thinking about this more. ..
I go to the smallish local pharmacy for most medicines - especially things like Ovex that you want quickly (places like Boots, superdrug etc would be a trek). One time I went and asked for Ovex and the pharmacist told me I could get them on this service, asked which child and then gave me the prescription for both of them -apologised I had to pay for the adults - it was almost like the pharmacist was 'pushing' the service....encouraging use. Now wondering why - do the pharmacists get more money or something?
(I have to say I bulk bought Ovex online after a while so I always had some in stock - so I could treat DCs as soon as I realised without waiting for pharmacy to open - I felt like I couldn't just buy it otc from local pharmacy...)
Also aspirin - pharmacy were encouraging me to get it on prescription more or less every time I bought it before the GP insisted I did.

From a cost POV -I am more concerned about over prescribing and waste etc -something I am very aware of. I think GPs in Scotland haven't caught up with the fact that now there are no prescription charges we don't need our 'moneys worth' eg I was given a medicine to 'try for a week' - I got given two months supply. (If I had been more mentally with it I would just have taken one box - a month's supply). And it didn't work so I got another similar medicine - another two months supply...did work thankfully but 7 weeks worth of the previous one ended up back at pharmacist for disposal...
Strong painkillers for my back - take for 3 days and if no better go back...and most of them ended up wasted.
I also got given a big bottle of morphine...at least a month's worth. With instructions to make another appointment for 2 days time (and to go back sooner if things got worse) ... 90+% of that bottle was wasted...

And smaller prescriptions don't necessarily mean more GPs time - you could split them or give two out at a time but for smaller amounts. I have got at least two prescriptions for things that I might need if things aren't better in a day or so but they have been so I've not needed to get the medicine.

unlucky very good points you make.

The one time I did use the service was years ago when trying eczema creams for DD. The pharmacist recommended one and told me I didn't need to pay and put it through under minor ailments. She also gave me Calpol the same way. So I have known for years you can get Calpol "free" but have never made use of it again.

I am disappointed it is now public knowledge. The NHS can't afford it.

I also wonder if there is a kick back for pharmacists. Also agree about dosage. I have three unopened boxes of infant gaviscon that I am going to have to bin :(