I shouldn't be getting free prescriptions

[ssd]

because I live in Scotland

I work, so does dh

we have a combined income of £25k

we don't need a regular prescription every week

where I pick up my prescriptions, people I know who are lawyers, accountants, business owners all pick them up free, its across the board and not means tested

its all wrong, when people in England pay over £8 for theirs

it should be means tested, that and the winter fuel allowance , probably loads more I cant think of just now

RhodaBull

Dh gets free prescriptions. It is madness that should he get a boil on his bottom any cream for that would be free when it has absolutely nothing to do with the drugs necessary for his ongoing condition.

Then as I have said before if you have a medex card for a certain condition and you think its madness to be able to use it for other things then DONT USE IT, don't claim, don't tick the box to say you have a valid medical exemption certificate, you do not get free prescriptions using a medex card unless you claim even if you are getting the medication the medex card has been issued for

Sorry but its the height of hypocrisy to say its madness or unfair to people who don't have one for the same illness, but still claim using your card.

The Scottish Government gets a block grant from UK Government and then is allowed to spend its money as it sees fit. It looks like the Scottish people agree with its priorities - I don't. But there is a cost to us of their priorities - less funding per patient than they receive money for to provide for free prescription for the 8% who previously had to pay (92% of prescriptions used to be free as taken by children, old people, poor people and people with long term chronic conditions) and free parking at most hospitals; decimation of Further Education places for our disadvantaged young people to pay for no tuition fees for the children of the middle class etc, many years of council tax freeze leading to decimation of local servcies - the list goes on.

I thought with certain conditions all the medication is free, because these illnesses often cause other medical problems as well. It would be very complex to then say what medication is okay to have free and what is not.

Thanks, I didnt know that. Its obviously the Welsh Government then that choose not to spend some of their budget on free prescriptions.

Wales was the first to implement free prescriptions for all.

don't worry Scotland pay for it themselves they aren't using the English money

No need for the roly eyes disappointedone , I was perfectly polite and said I didnt know. Nice to be educated.

Since the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, healthcare in England has been devolved to CDC's. The government is now no longer responsible for the NHS the way it is in Wales and Scotland.

CDC's are only obliged to offer emergency care. They are currently offering more but do not have to. They have made the decision to charge for prescriptions and keep the same outdated criteria for exemptions.

I don't know about Wales but in Scotland there are more ill people than England. Higher rates of mental health problems, MS, poverty related diseases, especially in the West of Scotland where I live. Consequently there are more prescriptions per head of population. It is easier and cheaper under these circumstances to have free prescriptions than it is to means test.

I think means testing in England is wrong too- look at the number of people on this thread missing medication they can't afford, or finding relatives houses stuffed with pills they didn't need. But CDC's aren't accountable to the electorate, and if they think they can keep costs down by charging for prescriptions they will continue to do so.

Caroline Lucas has proposed a bill to repeal the Health and Social Care Act and make government accountable for fixing the problems with the NHS. If you are unhappy with whst has happened to healthcare you should contact your MP and ask them to support it.
My MP may not be allowed to support it if it comes under EVEL, but if not I will be asking her to give it her support.

cleaty then you ask the GP, that's what I used to do when presenting with an illness that MIGHT be connected to my thyroid issues.

I think anyone who needs medication which can be bought over the counter should be made to buy it over the counter - GPs should not be able to prescribe OTC medication.

thecitydoc I have to say that local government only gets 8% of funding from council tax, and that freeze will end next year. UK government funding for local authorities has fallen by over £300 million in the last 6 years, and that is the real cause of their crisis in funding.

I agree it is a huge problem that they are underfunded, but the Scottish Government would have had to increase council tax by thousands if it tried to totally close the funding gap, and that would be unaffordable for most people.

That's what I was saying, peggyundercrackers, but more than that, it's absolutely a scandal that people can get prescriptions for items on an ordinary shelf, eg mild painkillers, headlice treatment, suncream, plasters etc.

Oldsu - I am saying it is hard for the Government to say what medications might be required as a result of an underactive thyroid. Which is why there will be a blanket rule.

kitten It's up to the pharmacy, I would sell 2 packs of paracetamol, never 3, no matter what the reason.
My local CCG are stopping all OTC drugs on prescription from the 1st April, along with gluten free bread and a couple of other things.

Gluten free bread?! What the hell is the matter with this country? FGS.

I want to defend gluten free bread my friend has ceoliac disease herbread was on prescription 20 years ago its for a legitimate illness im sure diabetics get it to saying that friend loves the new trend for glutten free and she can buy her bread at the supermarket

People with ceoliac diet has to be monitored thats why the bread was medical bread.

Until recently, gluten free bread was hard to get and even if you could get it in supermarkets, it was with the bakery products, so it was contaminated for any one with coeliac.
A friend gets cereal on prescription. It is better than Rice Krispies nutritionally and she needs it as she is awfully thin as she is not absorbing her food properly.
I have another friend with crones disease who has a colostomy and goes through tons of Imodium. The locum refused to prescribe it and she had to see someone else. It is normally not given on prescription for normal use, but it stops the food going straight through her so she can absorb something. It seems a trivial prescription but it is vital for her and would cost a fortune in the normal otc packets.

It used to be impossible to buy gluten free bread. It still is if you live somewhere very rural.

I hate waste of any kind, and when I saw what the pil had hoarded away - that they had never used and would have been readily in any supermarket, not even behind the counter - I was really quite angry about the profligacy of the NHS.

I think I would be more angry at PiL that they thought it was fine to abuse the system - why would any adult think its fine to horde medicine even when its free? I also think its wrong that adults abuse the system and go to the docs for things like hayfever tablets/pain killers etc. - lots of people feel entitled - arseholes - users need to be accountable for their own actions - its no good blaming the system. GPs should also only be able to prescribe certain amounts of medicine before checks are made to ensure the user needs all the medicine they get.

The argument for free medicine is not only about means testing, it is also about saving money further down the line e.g. if someone goes to doc and need a medicine but cannot pay for it they may end up in hospital with a more serious condition thus its cheaper to give them medicine FOC than to take them into hospital - prevention is better than cure!

Im sure my friend got cereal too its to do with absorbtion of calories I think

You can get bread, pasta, cereal, crackers, flour and plain biscuits on prescription.

technically they are means tested via the now universal credit system

so if your income is below a certain level and you receive certain benefits then you get free prescriptions - you have to ask for it though

frankly if you see the cost of some of the medicines you would be alot more shocked than the bill at the chemist. Try asking next time you have one the pharmacist should know they have a book with costs in.

I actually don't think its bad - if you want you can get a 3 mth or annual card . I have 4 regular medicines on repeat. For less than 30 quid I can get all my prescriptions for 3 mths, it costs me more for one batch and in 3 mths that is two iterations plus if there is anything extra. I am likely to get another one fairly soon so even more cost effective.

I think where they are issued free there are issues about people taking the medicines (thy don't value what they have) and I do think it is right that we are charged what for most medicines is a nominal fee.

RB68 in Scotland all prescriptions are free no matter who you are - when I say they are free they aren't really, people just think they are because they don't have to hand over any money to the pharmacist when they pick their medicine up.

This is over a years supply of Tramadol returned from one patient as they didn't need it any more. This is the reason that the NHS can't afford some cancer drugs.
Our CCG estimated that last year over £1,000,000 of unused medicines were disposed of.

I get free prescriptions because I have cancer. My family is not hard up and I do not financially need these. However, my breast care nurse said that groups had lobbied for years to give cancer patients this and so I ought to claim it.

Previously I had a pre payment certificate because I take a number of medications for my heart, including warfarin for a mechanical heart valve which I'm on for life. I require warfarin to live but all my cancer medications have been given to me on the chemo day unit so would not have been chargeable. Lots of people with very serious and life long illnesses don't get free prescriptions. It is odd.

I also think free eye tests for the over sixties should be revised and based on income until retirement age. I know a lot of multiples don't charge for sight tests but they do claim for free tests on the NHS.