To think NHS are pathetic

[tangerinemagic]

Yes I said it. I received a threatening letter in the post with a PCN. Yes, a PCN from the NHS!

I am on maternity leave and cashed a prescription which I did not pay for in February and during a spot check they ascertained I did not have the correct certificate. I challenged them online, only to find my MatB1 certificate wasn’t enough. Apparently everyone is eligible for free prescriptions within 1 year, it’s not means tested at all, but we all need to individually apply for ‘MatEx’ cert apparently. Why?!

This is DC2 and during two pregnancies, births and mat leaves I’ve never heard of a certificate. Not during any of the countless pre natal and post natal midwife appointments, from the GP, pharmacist, HVs.

I emailed and explained I was completely unaware and have received an unnecessarily threatening response. If my application is successful apparently the certificate only goes back 30 days, so I still have to pay either the PCN or the £9.90 prescription. I can’t tell which one as they aren’t clear. I’m furious given NHS is apparently understaffed and at breaking point.

have they got nothing better to do than hassle sleep deprived mothers who have enough on their plate?

Have I been living under a rock or has anyone else not heard of this?

I’m not sure how you got through pregnancy without knowing about this to be honest. My daughter is 15 months old and it was sorted in my booking appointment for that pregnancy, sent by email and the email has your code on which you then provide for prescriptions/dental treatment etc.

Currently 22 weeks pregnant with DC2 and again this was sorted in appointment number 1.

What a waste of resources chasing someone for that, they’d be able to check you have had a baby.

Do you know the subject line? I will look it up. I’m sure I’ve not had an email about it. I’m very organised and I would have done it if I knew.

It's on you to check this stuff OP.

It's like UC. People assume if they get any UC then they're entitled to free prescriptions, dental etc. They don't think to check to see if there's a threshold.

You'll have to pay for one of them if those are he options.

Exactly my thoughts. I cannot believe it.

But I am entitled to it and there is no threshold. That’s comparing apples to pears. It’s an admin step, which I didn’t know about. I was told I’m eligible for free prescriptions by the pharmacist when I went in pregnant trying to pay. In fact when I was pregnant and with a newborn they didn’t even ask, just handed what I needed to me.

Just spoken to HV as the email says ask GP, midwife or HV to apply on your behalf. They put me through to the admin team who started talking about MatB1 form and I said no, it’s MatEx. They’d never heard of it.

No they can't. The pharmacy cannot access your medical records for that purpose.

Both of my emails literally say “Maternity Exemption Certificate”.

I asked the midwife to sort both for me in appt 1, email in my inbox before I left booking appointment.

NHS can. They’re the ones who sent the letter through the post then emailed me back saying I need to pay a £100 PCN!!

It's not their responsibility to check, it's yours.

That's true if you have a prepaid certificate, any exemption or reason why you don't pay for prescriptions.

It's your responsibility to ensure that your exemption/certificate is up to date/eligible.

It's that simple - it was your responsibility to check/arrange and you did not do it.

They are not allowed to look through your private medical information for this. Data protection is taken very seriously.

Hence why you register for the exemption certificate and just pop your number on the form when getting a prescription/dental treatment.

I’ve just checked and I actually had one emailed to me a couple weeks into pregnancy with DC1. I suppose when I registered the pregnancy it came automatically, I have no memory of it being a certificate or needing to apply for it. It Was all new then and I barely registered it. Nothing for DC2.

You're happy for someone in the finance admin team to be able to read your medical records?

so is your response that I am being unreasonable? That I should pay £100 even though If I didn’t know so why would I check!? Seems last time it came through automatically last time. I’ve never applied. I have no memory of it. Fact is, we all are entitled to it. Even if they can’t check my data, I’ve sent the matB1 form so is it unreasonable of them to still chase me for a £100 fine???

It has cost them to spot check, pick up the errors, reach out. Someone is now dealing with the case etc.

If you’d put the number on that would all have been avoided- that’s the point of the fine.

I’ve emailed them the MatB1 form and they’ve replied. They know even if they didn’t at the time of the letter.

I was told about it at one of my antenatal appointments and was given the form. It was really straightforward. I think I had to show it at dentist appointments to get free treatment.

It might not be means tested, but it probably isn't available to people who aren't entitled to free NHS treatment (eg non GB citizens).

They really can't. If any staff accessed your medical records for this purpose they would be very quickly out of a job. Data Protection is taken extremely seriously when it comes to medical informaiton.

Have private dental through work so never had to worry about that. Tbh every time I’ve walked into a pharmacy pregnant they’ve not even asked and just handed me what I need.

I get that you're cross, but you can't be calling people pathetic OP. Look, YOU didn't do the admin you were supposed to and it's been treated accordingly. Just pay the prescription fee if that's an option. It's not worth the aggro.

YANBU, OP. On Googling these only became a compulsory thing at the end of 2022, so a lot of people who have a had a gap between kids might assume they just had to carry on as before.

I had to apply for mine in the early 2000's

You’re missing my point. Why do we need to do the admin? If everyone is exempt when they’ve had a baby, it makes no sense. In today’s world of advanced technology, if they do a spot check, the system should be able to alert if someone is within 1 year of birth or actively in the system as being pregnant. It’s not difficult. The difficulty is some people know about it and some people don’t. ‘YOU didn’t do the admin’ you protest, but in what world does someone do the admin on something they’ve never heard of.