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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I shouldn't be getting free prescriptions

220 replies

ssd · 16/03/2016 08:22

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

OP posts:
giggly · 16/03/2016 23:22

Laguna is spot on up thread .op clearly was hoping for an anti SNP,let's Slag off Nicola Sturgeon because we're all sheep that can't think for ourselves Wink
Having lived abroad with private health insurance and still had to pay £30 a month for meds. Delighted to have free prescriptions.

harrasseddotcom · 16/03/2016 23:27

Laguna is spot on up thread .op clearly was hoping for an anti SNP,let's Slag off Nicola Sturgeon because we're all sheep that can't think for ourselves I have seen a few of these on MN already, I suspect there will be quite a few more in the run up to the May elections.

LadyWithLapdog · 16/03/2016 23:49

Harrasseddotcom - I have no idea how that £1 billion was magicked.

Fanjo - spot on!

AliceInUnderpants · 17/03/2016 00:08

I have friends in England who have to choose between medications each month such as asthma inhalers and anti-psychotics.

You say that like its a good thing?

Did I? Did I, really? Did you even read my post?

harrasseddotcom · 17/03/2016 00:18

yh i read your post. You get free prescriptions which you dont agree with. But you said that friends in England dont get free prescriptions. You dont seem to be saying that this is a bad thing. It comes across as though you are advocating that they should pay for their prescription. Only that other parts of the UK should pay more so that your friends could pay less. even though thats not how the nhs budget works. If you advocate people paying for prescriptions (regardless of price) surely you think that this is a good thing?

travellinglighter · 17/03/2016 05:13

Had this conversation with a Tory candidate once. Said I liked the Welsh assembly but free prescriptions for me were unnecessary . She agreed and said she'd look into it.

Knocked on my door a couple of days later and said that free prescriptions were a no brainer in Wales as it cost them 30 million to administer the collection of the funds and they only collected 30 million.

Mistigri · 17/03/2016 05:51

The vast, vast majority of prescriptions issues in England are issued to people who have the right to free prescriptions.

The most recent figure I can find is that 91% of English prescriptions are dispensed free of charge (2014 figure), and this number has been rising in the last few years,, probably for demographic reasons (ageing population, and the rise in multiple diagnoses in elderly patients).

How much would Scotland save by enforcing prescription charges on the same basis as in England? My guess is that the figure is much less than you might think (once you have factored in the cost of collecting the charge).

DivaDroid · 17/03/2016 05:52

I for one am very grateful we don't pay for prescriptions in Scotland. I currently have gallstones & awaiting an op to remove it.
I need to take omeprazole, naproxen & tramadol daily just to barely control the pain (I get daily up to 3-4x attacks)
We couldn't afford these meds. Even at £8 each. If I didn't get them, I couldn't work, so we would be much worse off.
Luckily for me, I won't need these forever, just another 3 months max.

22sailors · 17/03/2016 09:01

As I am now nearly 69 I am very grateful for the free prescriptions as I have many big health issues but years ago,when it was discovered that I needed thyroxin I really didn't understand why I suddenly got all medication free it did seem stupid.
I've a feeling that this could become an issue soon, for Scotland as well.

Mysillydog · 17/03/2016 09:54

No-one should be paying more than £10 a month for prescriptions. So anyone on multiple meds should get a prescription pre-payment certificate. The £8.10 charge should just be for otherwise healthy people with occasional prescription needs.

Anyone who works in a pharmacy (including assistants) should be informing patients about these IMO. When my certificate had run out I had to pay for my meds. My pharmacy issued me with a receipt and told me that I could back date my certificate to cover that script. Once the certificate came through I was reimbursed the cost of my meds. I know that's not always helpful for people with cash flow problems, but honestly I would tell my GP if they were prescribing medication if I couldn't afford £10 a month.

My worst prescription moment was years ago when I wasn't on multiple meds and so paid as and when. I was prescribed antibiotic cover for a procedure. I was given a high dose amoxicillin sachet to take before the procedure, and a single tablet to take some hours later. I was charged two prescription charges. I remember thinking wtf was I paying approx £7.00 for one generic antibiotic tablet that must have cost pence.

AliceInUnderpants · 17/03/2016 10:04

harrassed You are seriously mis-reading my post. I don't think prescriptions in Scotland should have been made free for all. If they wanted to make cuts, they should have cut the cost of prescriptions right across the UK - for everyone.
I do realise that this was apparently not possible, but I just think giving one whole country for free, when others are crippled by increasing costs is incredibly unfair.

I don't know how the hell you could have read my posts and thought I was somehow celebrating that my friends can't access the medication they need.

whatevva · 17/03/2016 10:10

I did not know about the receipts until the pharmacist told me recently.

I can sometimes get a 3mth prepayment when I have got one lot of meds, so that it covers the next lot 3 months later. Otherwise, I am just on the brink of it not being worthwhile.

LetBartletBeBartlet · 17/03/2016 10:26

I do wish that those posters bashing people with paracetamol on prescription would RTFT Hmm

Due to the restrictions on sale, if you are supposed to be taking 8-a-day (often alongside a whole host of other pain meds), it can be very difficult to be able to actually buy a sufficient number of tablets for treatment OTC.

I'd happily pay for these OTC, but as my nearest pharmacy refuse to sell these in larger amounts (As they are entitled to do), and as a lone parent with restricted mobility (so going to multiple shops, or getting another adult to pick them up also) I'm a bit stuck for other options.

8-a-day means that the 'two packets' restriction in shops only lasts four days. I've been on the maximum dose of paracetamol daily for over four years, and spent the first three having to plan shopping trips etc around getting sufficient paracetamol before my mobility declined massively and left me practically housebound (online shopping also restricts to 2pks).

Before you say that those having OTC drugs on prescription "make you sick" etc, perhaps it would be worth bearing in mind that there can be good reasons for this.

I'd much rather just not need to take them in such large amounts Sad

22sailors · 17/03/2016 10:40

It would be great not having to take medication but when different organs start to fail it is a matter of life or death. I agree about paracetamol, if any type of payment is ever brought back in for all people are going to have to have a card from the Doctor advising that large amounts can be purchased where required. I don't think it will e long before there is a minimum charge at least for scripts and that would be very much better than losing other medical services.

whatevva · 17/03/2016 10:43

My FIL had paracetamol on prescription when he had terminal cancer. The pharmacy used to deliver them regularly along with the other stuff, most of which was probably not that exotic either. He probably save the NHS thousands in chemo and painkillers that he could not take.

PennyHasNoSurname · 17/03/2016 10:44

Imo prescriptions should only be for

  • meds that cant be bought over the counter
  • meds that can but whose retail price is over the cost of a prescription

No prescriptions for iver the counter meds that cost a few quid (Calpol / Paracetamol etc can be bought in the £shop).

AliceInUnderpants · 17/03/2016 10:48

Well said LetBartlet - a point I hadn't thought about before.

stealtheatingtunnocks · 17/03/2016 10:48

Also, supporting free prescriptions.

DH resented paying for his asthma inhalers as he "didn't really need them". Landed up on a ward with his uncontrolled asthma twice in a year - still believed he didn't need them.

Given free prescriptions and he now complies with his medication like a good boy. No longer has unstable asthma.

He's behaved like a pillock, for sure - but, it is cheaper to give him free inhalers than it is to manage his symptoms when he doesn't comply.

Lots of people are the same. It saves money and improves public health.

Bodicea · 17/03/2016 10:49

The reason the Scottish get more as they get more spent on them per head because of the Barnett formula. It was in manifesto to scrap I think but unfortunately the MPs got scared in the Scottish referendum and promised they wouldn't scrap. So the English tax payer gets to fund this despite never having voted for it. It is a disgrace.

AliceInUnderpants · 17/03/2016 11:01

So the English tax payer gets to fund this despite never having voted for it. It is a disgrace.

The Scottish could say the same for the current Government Wink

LagunaBubbles · 17/03/2016 11:05

So the English tax payer gets to fund this despite never having voted for it. It is a disgrace

OP quick come back - something vaguely anti-Scottish, this is what you wanted isnt it!

Bodicea might come as news to you but Scottish people pay tax to..

LagunaBubbles · 17/03/2016 11:05

Alice Grin

22sailors · 17/03/2016 11:26

I don't think this is the place to bring up the Scottish referendum details as it has been done and is over with and neither country gets a fair deal from the present inmates.

MissingPanda · 17/03/2016 14:14

Wrt paracetamol and other otc medications, I'm a support worker with people with disabilities. We're not allowed to buy otc medications not even paracetamol or hay fever remedies. Although I do agree in general I do think there should be exemptions such as my service users or even pp's who need large quantities on a regular basis due to the difficulties in being able to obtain them otc.

Bluebolt · 17/03/2016 14:29

We get bogged down with the word free, when someone always has to pay wether it be in cash or the loss of another service to provide the one deemed free. I do not mind paying because I am able to afford it and do not need much. In an ideal world those who could pay would but the cut off for most mean tested items is always to low. In truth the NHS is not working in any of the devolved NHS.