NHS Minor Ailment Scheme?

bery_451

I heard this scheme is about getting meds from pharmacies without a prescription to treat minor problems like cough, headache etc.

Also you dont have to pay for the meds if your exempt from paying for prescriptions.

Can you choose any brand meds off the shelf in the pharmacy/chemist that does this scheme? Or is it restricted to certain brands meds? For example can I choose the best brand expensive med for a particular problem or am I restricted?

Is there a website that has a directory of all the pharmacies/chemist in the country that do the Minor Ailment scheme?

littlereddevil

Here in scotland we can register with one chemist and can only use that one once registered. I haven't used it but I imagine you would get the medicines the chemist gives you

Dizzy_Ditzy

you would get the basic generic stuff

if you want the brand name stuff, you'll have to pay for it

bery_451

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

you would get the basic generic stuff

if you want the brand name stuff, you'll have to pay for it

so if i wanted a brand name like gaviscon for heartburn, they woudnt give me and give me a cheaper version instead even though the brand one will tackle the problem better?

If i go the long route and go to my GP to get a new prescription, is the GP obliged to prescribe me the brand med I want?

Elle7

bery_451 wrote: »

so if i wanted a brand name like gaviscon for heartburn, they woudnt give me and give me a cheaper version instead even though the brand one will tackle the problem better?

If i go the long route and go to my GP to get a new prescription, is the GP obliged to prescribe me the brand med I want?

No, the GP won't give you the brand you want for the same reason the pharmacy won't.

The NHS has contracts with pharmaceutical companies, so you will get whatever is contracted - usually a cheaper generic version, because brand names are more expensive.

It's unusual that the cheap one won't tackle the problem, because ingredients are usually the same or very similar - the more expensive one is just preferential because it works faster/tastes nicer/etc.

If you want, for example, Gaviscon, you'll need to purchase it over the counter, and pay full price. The NHS won't subsidise your choice.

littlestar1981

A GP prescribes a medicine, not a brand of medicine. Therefore if you get a prescription it's common sense that you'll be issued the cheaper one on your free prescription. The branded product shouldn't tackle a problem better if it's the same medicine that you're taking. I'm sure I've read some research somewhere about how people think the branded stuff works better when it doesn't it's just psychological because you have positive perceptions/associations of the brand doing the right job for you.

However, if you are specifically referring to Gaviscon that I'm sure it is often prescribed anyway. I've just spent 6 months working in a GP surgery and Gaviscon was often on a patient's prescription.

Gingernutty

bery_451 wrote: »

so if i wanted a brand name like gaviscon for heartburn, they woudnt give me and give me a cheaper version instead even though the brand one will tackle the problem better?

If i go the long route and go to my GP to get a new prescription, is the GP obliged to prescribe me the brand med I want?

Um, no.

The GP is not obliged to prescribe branded prescription items if there are cheaper, generic alternatives.

For your example, Gaviscon liquid is an antacid with an gooey alginate 'base' which helps blanket and coat the oesophagus.

Clearly, a packet of Rennies or a bottle of milk of magnesia would not be an alternative. If there is a shop's own brand or a generic alternative that could be prescribed (and a lot do) then you won't get Gaviscon, but you would get the alternative.

Edit: I'm a slow typer. Cross posted with littlestar1981 and Elle7

Humphrey10

littlestar1981 wrote: »

I'm sure I've read some research somewhere about how people think the branded stuff works better when it doesn't it's just psychological because you have positive perceptions/associations of the brand doing the right job for you.

You are right, it is psychological - people think the more expensive stuff works better, so it does.

eg branded painkillers, with a name that implies they are somehow better eg extra/plus in the name, that are in fancy boxes eg shiny, that cost more, with coloured tablets, work better.

Even if everything else is identical, a tablet costing £1 will have a better effect than one costing 0.01p.

It's all 'in the mind' of course, but the effect is still real.

mustmakealist

In most cases where a minor ailment scheme operates you will need to be registered with a GP and to go to a local pharmacy. If you have one of the conditions that the scheme covers you may be offered an appropriate treatment, but you will not be able to choose which medicine that is.
A lot of schemes do not cover coughs as they will often get better on their own without medicines.

mr_rush

>>is the GP obliged to prescribe me the brand med I want?<<

No.

A few medicines should be prescribed by their brand name but nothing that is available OTC.