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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

GP Practise, changing prescription for cheaper one!!

109 replies

birdladyfromhomealone · 10/08/2018 10:21

. Im spitting mad today.
I have had a letter from my GP telling me the practise can not afford to pay for my cancer drugs prescribed by my Neurologist so as of next week they are changing my prescription for a different type which is cheaper for the practise.
I pay for my prescriptions £30 plus a month.
Who do they think they are?

It has taken months to get used to these drugs and they want me to change and get more side effects to get used too 😞 I am seeing the neurologist team at Kings on Monday afternoon for my 6 month check up so will complain to them and see if they will write to my GP.

Swelling is going down on my tummy now and no more bleeding.

I am having a mammagraph next week then get all my results on Aug 22nd at the Oncology unit at Royal Marsden. I have felt so much better this week.

But why should my doctor change my drugs that were rescribed to me BY AN EXPERT!!!

OP posts:
StarfishSandwich · 10/08/2018 10:26

The practice don’t pay for your prescriptions though? Your treatment should come out of the cancer drugs fund. I’m a little confused by your post?

StarfishSandwich · 10/08/2018 10:28

Also, why do you pay for your prescriptions? You should have an exemption certificate!

Original poster
birdladyfromhomealone · 10/08/2018 10:34

You tell me?
The letter says my GP has changed my drugs to a cheaper one!!

OP posts:
Allthewaves · 10/08/2018 10:38

Get onto your neurologist now. They can't do that. I'm guessing they are changing from brand name to generic as that's NHS prescibing guidelines but gp cannot overrule specialists

showgirl · 10/08/2018 10:46

GP's do pay for prescriptions they issue.

Sirzy · 10/08/2018 10:48

Are they changing from a branded to a generic one?

As pp said you should have a pre paid certificate anyway, but I doubt the £30 covers the cost of the drugs!

ConfessionsOfTeenageDramaQueen · 10/08/2018 10:55

Ffs the £30 is a red herring.

OP - I agree call your specialist's secretary and explain the situation and ask for a letter to be sent to GP (copy to you) to say you must have the same drugs.

Then make an appointment with GP and whether or not that letter has arrived go and argue your case. If they still refuse say you want to escalate it and ask how.

ch0c0milkrox · 10/08/2018 10:55

They do this with my needles and test strips for diabetes. I just got my consultant to write to them to tell them to stop it! They do it about every 6 months or so.

Chouetted · 10/08/2018 11:00

It may not even have been the GP who wrote the letter - I had some antidepressants switched to a cheaper version - and then promptly switched back by my GP the first time I went in for a prescription, because they were a completely different formulation...

purplestrawberry2 · 10/08/2018 11:02

Im not sure I understand - I presume the GP has switched you from a branded drug to a generic one in which case it will be the same drug and good on them saving some NHS £.

If they truly have switched you to a completely different drug without consulting your neurologist this isnt acceptable and you need to speak to them.

FromNowOn · 10/08/2018 11:02

If you have cancer you should have a medical exemption card for prescriptions.

MumW · 10/08/2018 11:26

I was prescribed the branded name drugs for my migraine. After a few months, I got a similar letter. It's the same drug but the generic name. Same as if they'd prescribed Nurofen and then changed it to Ibuprofen.

It may or may not be the same in your case. I'd pop into your chemist as your pharmacist should be able to tell you. Obviously, if it is a different drug then you'd be well within your rights to give them hell?

MumW · 10/08/2018 11:35

Just to put it into context - I just googled an online pharmacy and the branded migraine tablets cost £85 but the unbranded £38.

The branded ones are a fraction nicer to take but the saving to the NHS by prescribing unbranded is nearly £300 just for me over a year.

ginandtonicformeplease · 10/08/2018 11:42

Purple strawberry They're not exactly the same though - they're slightly different chemical compositions. I've had the GP try to do this, and my neurologist had to tell them not to as just switching from the brand name to the generic can cause adverse effects. If I had been put on the generic straight away, fine, but it's really not recommended to switch just like that and is likely to cause the NHS more money in the long run.

nervyuyt · 10/08/2018 11:45

I pay for my prescriptions £30 plus a month.

Who do they think they are?

Shock

Really?

ginandtonicformeplease · 10/08/2018 11:46

www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/generic-and-branded-anti-epileptic-drugs

This is for epilepsy, but I would imagine that cancer drugs should be treated the same as they're not just taken occasionally.

Bombardier25966 · 10/08/2018 11:47

What are the drugs in question OP? If you want someone to blame look to the government that keep (in real terms) cutting budgets, the front line don't have any say in this, they just have to work with what they are given.

As previously mentioned you should qualify for a medical exemption on prescription costs. Google it and you'll find the application details.

SistersOfPercy · 10/08/2018 11:48

They did it with my pill a few months ago, can't say I noticed any difference.
The main people to point the finger at are those who want free prescriptions for cheap over the counter drugs who are bleeding the NHS dry.

purplestrawberry2 · 10/08/2018 11:48

theres only a very few exceptions where thr generic and brand name arent exactly the same, but usually they are. There are some cases where drugs only need to be prescribed by brand. But these are very rare and if that has happened the GP shouldnt have done it without speaking to neurology.

But apart from these rare cases the branded and generic are exactly the same chemical compound ie nurofen and ibuprofen.

GoatYoga · 10/08/2018 11:50

What drug are you taking now and what is the alternative that they are offering you? Without that it is impossible to know if you are being unreasonable or not.

purplestrawberry2 · 10/08/2018 11:51

yes @ginandtonicforme antiepileptics are some of the ones you need to be careful with - but they are an exception.

It would help if OP could say what she was on and has now been prescribed.

QueenofmyPrinces · 10/08/2018 11:52

I had a letter off my GP Surgery once telling me that they were changing my epilepsy medication from the brand I’d been on for ten years to a cheaper version of the drug. The letter said the change shouldn’t affect my health.

I was fuming!!

I wrote a very strongly worded letter to the practice manager including the risks of swapping between brands in terms of seizure control and also included written statements from Neurologists from
an Epilepsy charity about the importance of remaining on the same brand of drug.

YANBU at all OP!

I’d be feeling exactly the same in your position!

GoatYoga · 10/08/2018 11:55

You cannot compare changes to epilepsy medication to other conditions it just isn't comparable.

From the information given there is no way to know if the OP is being unreasonable or not.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 10/08/2018 11:55

Theres only a very few exceptions where thr generic and brand name arent exactly the same, but usually they are.

DM was reassured when they changed her eye drops that the generic drops were the same as the branded ones. The generic ones stung her eyes and her eyesight deteriorated faster than it had been so her consultant put her straight back on the original ones.

As others have said I would speak to your consultant.

Bombardier25966 · 10/08/2018 11:57

The main people to point the finger at are those who want free prescriptions for cheap over the counter drugs who are bleeding the NHS dry.

It's an avoidable expense, but certainly not "bleeding the NHS dry". The cost amounts to approx £190 million, which seems like a massive amount to us, but in terms of operating costs amount to less than half a day of overall costs.