Prescription For Child Denied - Told to spend £20

[SuperFluity]

Hello, new joiner here! My GP has just assessed my DD as needing Cetirizine and Piriton day and night for the next two weeks to deal with an allergic reaction.

I was told I had to pay for the medicine myself and the GP would not provide a prescription. I said that would need 4 bottles of medication to cover the period and cost £20 and that we should not be expected to pay £20.

I absolutely understand that prescribing aspirin and paracetamol should be banned. But what do you all think about the situation above? Is this normal? Am I being unreasonable to expect a prescription in this instance?

Thank you!

I think it depends on the doctor you see. If you genuinely can not afford it you could go to the pharmacy and get it on the minor aliments scheme I'm pretty sure. I've had doctors prescribe calpol but I have never accepted the prescription and buy it on my own.

You can buy the generic stuff for pence

I take 4 cetirizine a day, have done for 20 years and don't get it prescribed

This says the cheapest prices
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/cheap-hayfever-remedies/

wow @Ollivander84 that's a lot of ceterzine,
does it make you sleepy? why so much?

I think part of the problem is that you weren’t told the actual OTC cost of the medicine you require.
It really is not £20.

YABU. OTC medication should be purchased yourself. The NHS is on its knees and needs all the help it can get.

Ask a pharmacist about the cheaper options, or check that MSE link.

exactly what @poppingalf said.

The PL code on the box is the manufacturing product licence - if two boxes have the same PL code, the medicines come from the same factory, off the same production line and are just put into different boxes

Prescriptions are supposed to be for prescription medication, not for OTC stuff. That's the responsibility of parents

My GP practice don't prescribe OTC medicines either, and I don't expect them to. My dd has an allergic condition that comes and goes. I made a GP appointment to find out the most appropriate anti-histamine. Then I went and bought some.

What is utterly ridiculous is that supermarkets have worked out a way to purchase and sell these products as cheap as chips and in bulk, but the NHS who would be a great customer can't do so.

Now that is ludicrous and the reason why even if the government throw money at the NHS, it won't end up with better results. The wastage and high cost of everything is ludicrous.

We buy our own cheap painkillers which are used daily.

I buy big bottles of unbranded cetirizine from the pharmacy and it’s very cheap.

How old is she? Will she need them at school?

I had the opposite problem. I used to buy cetirizine and piriton for DS to have in his school medical box. Then I was told if they were in the box they HAD to be prescribed, ie have the stickers from the pharmacist on them. So I had to get the GP to prescribe them.

So, getting finally to the point, if she is at school you might have to have them on prescription.

They have asked you to buy them over the counter as they are over-the-counter drugs. Have you actually said "I can't afford to buy the medicines you have prescribed for my child" ?

I would be pleased if the GP said this, it may mean with this common sense attitude that the NHS may be there in the future for your son

My kids have bad allergies. I only ask for prescription if they need it for school as the school need it to have proper labelling from the GP.

You can buy 6 boxes of 30 tablets for 3.99. Why should the nhs pay far more?

www.amazon.co.uk/Allacan-Cetirizine-Hayfever-Allergy-Tablets/dp/B01HYFNA50?tag=mumsnetforum-21

@mumsiedarlingrevolta pass on the sleep thing - I'm always tired but I've been on it that long I can't remember
I have cholinergic urticaria so when I exercise/get stressed/hot I look like this
I've been on around 380mg antihistamines before and no joy, the 4 a day just tones down the itching but doesn't prevent them

If people can afford to pay, then they should. It’s the responsible thing to do. We all need to do our bit to help the nhs.

Our governing CCH has told us not to prescribe any painkillers, laxatives, hayfever meds and various other things. Every three months someone comes to the practice with our prescribing data and tells us off for any we've prescribed.
This is more and more common and will be happening in most areas soon, if it isn't already.

*CCG

I do buy my own medication when it is available (so over the counter stuff) but I do not understand why if the generic stuff costs 49p from Aldi, why do the nhs say that it costs them £20 for the same thing? Why are they not giving out the 49p generic stuff too? I’ve never understood this, is it due to the administration costs or are they actually paying that much for the drug? Maybe part of the cost is the gp actually writing the prescription, but that cost is still there whether I buy the 49p medication, or take the prescription I’m offered.

Is the minor ailments scheme still in operation? When people were made aware that scheme was in existence, the amount of people going mad that they could now get their free bottles of calpol we rediculous. Has it now been knocked on the head and people have had to go back to buying their own medication for their children? If it has gone, then good!

My local pharmacy know me quite well for a number of years and the pharmacist was recently telling me that I could go through their minor injuries scheme for things like calpol. Like many on this thread I can afford it and would rather pay for it myself as I think that's more effective in the long run.

But he wasn't offering the service to me because he thought I needed it, he didn't view it as charity - it's a scheme that can be used for free for people in certain circumstances - eg children under the age of 16.

If £20 for the treatment is too much, please consider finding a pharmacy running the scheme and seeing if they can sort it for you.

Of course you should buy it yourself; it's an OTC medication, not a prescription, and not that costly.

Wait until you're child comes home from school with lice , or picks up verrucas from the swimming pool ... those treatments are OTC, too, and you'll need repeat treatments ... those will cost!

oh @Ollivander84 how miserable!

do other antihistamines like benadryl help?

I bought a bottle of cetirizine in Poundland today (in the kids section), for that price I wouldn’t consider getting a prescription. I don’t think it’s going to cost you £20 for two weeks.