abolished prescription charges?

donnac2558

No. I take quite a lot of medication unfortunately. If you are on a low income and do not get any benefits due to being single, no children etc they you got no help. And if you just could not afford the prepaid cert anyway.

The answer is for GPs to stop giving out stuff which is cheap to buy in the chemist. I believe Wales did this?

warmhands.coldheart

donnac2558 wrote: »

The answer is for GPs to stop giving out stuff which is cheap to buy in the chemist. I believe Wales did this?

I would agree with this. I've always said that they should not be allowed to give things such a basic pain killers like paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Asprin or the likes out on a prescription... you can get these for less than £1 in the supermarkets.
They should also stop giving out (I think they may have done this to some extent) branded medicines. The number of parents I've seen asking for Calpol rather than the generic paracetamol for their kids in the past, because they don't like the taste, is rediculous. Brands should only be used where NO other option is available.
I've seen parents getting Sudocreme for a bit of nappy rash on prescription.. again stuff like this should not be allowed to be got on prescription.. It's the sort of thing you get once in a blue moon for a few quid...

I think if they looked at what should and should not be allowed on prescription, they could save a fortune..

Torry_Quine

warmhands.coldheart wrote: »

I would agree with this. I've always said that they should not be allowed to give things such a basic pain killers like paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Asprin or the likes out on a prescription... you can get these for less than £1 in the supermarkets.
They should also stop giving out (I think they may have done this to some extent) branded medicines. The number of parents I've seen asking for Calpol rather than the generic paracetamol for their kids in the past, because they don't like the taste, is rediculous. Brands should only be used where NO other option is available.
I've seen parents getting Sudocreme for a bit of nappy rash on prescription.. again stuff like this should not be allowed to be got on prescription.. It's the sort of thing you get once in a blue moon for a few quid...

I think if they looked at what should and should not be allowed on prescription, they could save a fortune..

I make no apology for having had items on prescription which are available over the counter. I am on a lot of medication and so always want my doctor to prescribe to prevent interactions. Also the amounts available over the counter can be small for obvious reasons and my GP can give me larger amounts which if you need to take something every day is very helpful.

spike7451

donnac2558 wrote: »

No. I take quite a lot of medication unfortunately. If you are on a low income and do not get any benefits due to being single, no children etc they you got no help. And if you just could not afford the prepaid cert anyway.

The answer is for GPs to stop giving out stuff which is cheap to buy in the chemist. I believe Wales did this?

Since being diagnosed with Angina & my TAI stroke the other month,I'm now on 8 tablets a day,I could not afford £40 odd quid a month on the old charges of,what £7 a pop on my last jobs wage,espacially after paying rent,travel to work ect.

I think they should have a sliding scale in that if you are on a repeat script of a special medicine (like the heart tablets,nitrolingual spray ect) you pay;

1 item-£3.00
2 items-£2.50
3 items-£2.00
4+ items £1.50

But for 'ordinary' meds or one off scripts you pay £3.00 no matter how many items.That way those on low income (not unemployed) who take a lot of medicine have help.

Of course they are ball park figures.

jeffer

warmhands.coldheart wrote: »

I think if they looked at what should and should not be allowed on prescription, they could save a fortune..

They did that many years ago - e.g. no cough bottles other than 'simple linctus' (which is useless) are allowed, nor are vitamins as far as I know.

spike7451

I was in the local chemist the other month looking at disposable glasses (for work) & a woman I knew from long ago came in & asked about her prescription for a special type of bread for her kids.(she's one of these moms who is a fuss pot,slightest cough...off to the docs type)
Now I wasn't nosy enough to eavesdrop on the whole chat,but I'm sure that if she looked,she could get the same bread locally from a bakers (heck,they may even bake it for her!) at a cheaper cost than on the NHS.

redped

You can get a prescription for bread??? That's a new one to me, although I can see why if the kids have certain allergies. I always thought prescriptions were only for medications, ointments, etc.

I personally feel there's too much stuff handed out freely on prescription - if someone needs specialised medicines then it should be free (or maybe a low charge), but for simple stuff that can be bought elsewhere, then there should be a higher charge for it.

Torry_Quine

redped wrote: »

You can get a prescription for bread??? That's a new one to me, although I can see why if the kids have certain allergies. I always thought prescriptions were only for medications, ointments, etc.

I personally feel there's too much stuff handed out freely on prescription - if someone needs specialised medicines then it should be free (or maybe a low charge), but for simple stuff that can be bought elsewhere, then there should be a higher charge for it.

Gluten free products are available on prescription. The reason being it is prohibitively expensive to buy.

redped

That's interesting - any idea if all celiacs can get this on prescription, or only some (e.g. only children)? I'll mention this to my sister in law, who's a celiac.

Torry_Quine

redped wrote: »

That's interesting - any idea if all celiacs can get this on prescription, or only some (e.g. only children)? I'll mention this to my sister in law, who's a celiac.

She needs to speak to her doctor. Coeliacs are entitled to gluten free products and genius bread is definately available.