To wonder how people afford prescription charges?

[fuckedandbombed]

I live alone and work full time but money is tight for now.

I have been on antidepressants for a couple of years so was costing me the £10 a month charge.

Recently my gp has bit me on blood pressure tablets and vitamin b12 as well

I've left it to get the prescription because I simply can't afford £30 a month .

I need the meds , but just can't afford them . Is there any alternative to paying £30 a month ?

I thought the cert automatically renews

Wouldn’t buying vitamin b12 over the counter be cheaper than paying £10 prescription charge? Not sure if it’s something you can buy over the counter but usually vitamins are quite cheap so that might help!

Just seen you have replied to someone else that said this. You can get 180 from boots for £6 and if you take one a day that’s way way way cheaper than £10 a month prescription? Then you’re just paying the prescription charge for the other 2. The doctor and pharmacist won’t necessarily tell you it’s cheaper to buy otc - sometimes they tell you sometimes they don’t!

Only 10% of people pay for their prescriptions. Time to rethink the system.

@bruffin

I thought the cert automatically renews

Just realised some people dont pay by DD and pay the full amount in advance

Dh always pays for his 75g aspirin as much cheaper than a prescription charge

Wow, I'm so glad I'm in Scotland. I think I payed for a prescription maybe once but that was YEARS ago.

@Unhomme

Only 10% of people pay for their prescriptions. Time to rethink the system.

You do wonder if the way it's done in England actually saves any money, because of all the admin that it creates, but it is well known that if something is free, some people are wasteful and will keep collecting prescriptions when they're not actually taking the medication for example, because it's not costing them anything.

Also that some people will expect a prescription for very cheap drugs like simple painkillers because they're free, rather than buy them in the supermarket for next to nothing, which wastes a lot of doctor and pharmacist time.

I'm in Scotland so don't have to pay for prescriptions. However my main prescription is an antihistamine. I discovered the same brand on Amazon from a reputable seller. I can buy a year's worth of it for less than what it would cost if I did have to pay for prescriptions so rather than be a cost to the NHS I buy my own.

@SciFiScream I am in England and just bought a year's worth of antihistamines for £9.99 delivered.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/cheap-hayfever-remedies/

Direct Debit. I get 9 medications per month, sometimes extra ones depending. Saved me a fortune.

I also do direct debit £10 a month as I used to have multiple items. I don’t really now though

Glad you’re going to get a PPC OP, shame your pharmacist didn’t proactively suggest it (mine did years ago when I had a lots of scripts on the go - I’m originally from a different country and had no idea).

Can’t believe the dishonest people who tick the box saying they’re exempt when they’re not. Stealing from the NHS is pretty poor - do you also criticise the low pay rises for nurses? If there weren’t so many thieves there might be a little more money to go around. Dishonesty like this isn’t a victimless crime.

In my home country if you’re entitled to free prescriptions you get a card - administered by the same department that manages benefits so minimises the admin load. And it means that fraud (by the likes of some posters on here) is minimised.

I'm more shocked every time I hear of someone who doesn't know about the PPC

I'd never heard of PPC. I'm grateful that I never had to, and grateful for good health.