To think NHS Prescriptions are extortionate

[Leobynature]

I am not sure what response I am looking for. Myself and 1 year old have been sick all week with flu. I have developed a chest infection and DD has had breathing problems. After a much appreciated GP visit I was pleased I was given a prescription for antibiotics, pain medication and an inhaler. I was advised to buy ibuprofen and paracetamol for DD as the ‘NHS do not give prescription for calpol’. I was absolutely astonished that this came to over £35! This is a lot from our budget. I don’t think I could afford to be sick again. I don’t know how some families with repeat prescriptions manage it. So annoyed as the pain medication is not even that strong and I could have just ‘overdosed’ on 49p over the counter medication. £9 per med is extortionate

AlunWynsKnee

It is not necessary to pay £40 for a prescription.

For £29.10 you can have as many as you need for three months.

If you are in need you may qualify for exemption.

Children and people over 60 pay nothing.

Piglet you've misread. I pay £20 a year for my £4K worth of meds. The OP was complaining about nearly £40 for 3 prescriptions :)

I have a prepayment certificate, you can pay monthly roughly £10 and month.

"finding £40 for a prescription is hard work"

Nobody has to.

I’m confused why you wouldnt just buy ibuprofen and paracetamol, £35 isn’t in your budget. The cheap packets are. Cheapest in my local Is £2/3 as they don’t sell cheap alternatives but it’s still a lot less and less to complain about

I’m on 17 tablets a day - 8 different drugs - at a total of almost £320 a month, according to my BNF. I’m in Scotland, so thankfully, they’re free, but I did used to have a pre-payment cert. I’m one who gets paracetamol on prescription, because I take up to 8 a day. I get boxes of 112. I’m so grateful to get these, as I certainly couldn’t afford even the expensive drug alone - which is a life-changing, wonder drug, for me.
£35 unexpectedly is a lot, especially right before Xmas, but YABU to complain that you got the drugs you needed/wanted, without paying cost price.

Antibiotics for flu?

Had to buy an inhaler in India once. Cost 60p. In date, standard branding.

Not just the USA though it's the most outrageous--prescriptions aren't free in Canada or Australia either. Canadian taxes aren't that low, but the standard health cover doesn't include pharmacare at all.

NHS prescriptions are a bargain--yes, £9 can add up, but being able to cap that with a PPC can make loads of difference.

I'm lucky living in Wales we get our prescriptions for free, some used to want cheap things on them like paracetamol but that's been stopped which is good. I have health conditions I was born with and have medications and medical items I couldn't live without and dread to think what it would be in England.

OP our last antibiotic prescription after co pay in the USA came to 200 dollars.

You are very lucky!!

I wouldn't mind so much but I feel doctors just prescribe randomly sometimes in the hope that they find something that works - at my expense.

I was prescribed 5 different inhalers one after the other plus the huge plastic thing to attach to them - so over £50 in total. I don't even have asthma. I actually did have the bad chest infection I went to them to diagnose but if you have a family history of asthma then they insist you also have asthma. What a complete waste of my money.

I've also been prescribed drugs that contain things I'm allergic to because the doctor never checks the notes properly. I then have to go back and get a replacement prescription which I have to pay again for - so costing me double what it should. There's never any apology for this.

@Astrid09

In England,

If you are over 60 or have another exemption, free.

If not, around £10 a month buys you a PPC which covers all the NHS prescriptions you need.

I am amazed that there are people seemingly unaware of that and grumbling that they pay a lot for multiple prescriptions.

It's shocking what some medications cost the NHS, dh has 1 single tablet of anti sickness (the usual ones don't work) before chemo and it costs £600 for one tablet 😳

In Ireland I used to pay €144 per month for medicines. I was on daily injections that cost over €30 for one injection. The cap per person/family has come down over the last few years to €114 per month starting in January. A visit to a GP is €60. An A and E trip us €100 unless you are admitted to the hospital. 24 paracetamol is nearly 3 euro. Although I managed to get them for 2.50 in a hospital chemist today. Inhalers are quite expensive. Antibiotics are about a tenner or so depending on the type.

I don't think they are extortionate as I'm aware how much these items cost the NHS but I know what the OP is saying. The last time I had severe toothache I had to see my dentist for about a minute who didn't look at my teeth but then charged my £20 to write a prescription and then I had to pay £27 for the medication on top of the income I had lost because I had to go home from work and my company didn't pay sick pay. It's quite scary being ill on a low income, even if it's just something like toothache.

This is why I’m glad we got the outcome of the election. Too many think everything should be provided for them free and personal responsibility seems an alien concept to many.

Oh ffs. OP never said she wanted them for free, just that it's a lot to pay from a low income. And people can't wonder why some can't afford to pay into a pension.

@dreichXmas you need to switch insurance! My husband has cancer and doesn’t pay anywhere near that for his prescriptions.

The issue with paracetamol is that we really need something that could give pharmacists good back up to sell people paracetamol in large numbers.

My friend has terminal cancer and as part of her cocktail of drugs she takes 8 paracetamol a day. There are two pharmacies in our village and they won’t sell her husband enough to cover that because they have to cover themselves should he use it to harm himself

I think you should be able to take a prescription, or a second slip that is similar to a prescription, and the pharmacist should be able to sell you, risk free, the drugs on that slip.

All of the people I know who get paracetamol on prescription it’s because they can’t trail around several places to get enough for what they need each week

What I don't understand is that all my meds are free for life because I have an underactive thyroid, but my sister struggles to pay for her prescription for asthma inhalers and frequently gets unwell without them. The exception rules make no sense.

That’s because the exemptions list has been the same since it was created except for the addition of cancer patients in 2009

Only long-term conditions that had a safe and reliable treatment when it was created were included. Asthma inhalers didn’t come into use until a few years after it was created. No government has ever done a full review of the conditions on the list. Gordon Brown had cancer added during his tenure

The medications are likely triple or more what you paid @Topseyt many are closer to a hundred pounds per script. We are lucky to have subsidized medications. And yes it can be hard for people on a tighter budget.

Are you fucking kidding? Try living in America. Gah. Medicine is expense and people taking the piss is what's gutted the NHS

My fucking inhaler is $400.

Laughs in American.

You are taking the piss OP. Appreciate what healthcare system you have ffs. I’m actually angry at you