Surprise charge from hospital after trip to A&E

missile

milliemonster wrote: »

Exactly!, anyone who reside in the UK knows there is a prescription charge for medication!

except for those who live in wales, scotland or NI :rotfl:

System

Op you've been hard done by. Someone should have told you that you would be charged for the medication. However I don't think its the doctors job to tell you that medicine will cost you £7.40 per item. I don't believe that doctors are salespeople and therefore they shouldn't concern themselves with prices of medicine they prescribe. Someone else at the A&E should have told you before you accepted the medicine.

On the plus side at least you are ok now!

pinkteapot

I must be in the ill-informed minority as I had no idea this would happen.

As far as I knew, when you go to A&E:
1) If a doctor/nurse gives you pills or other medication it's free
2) If they give you a prescription to go and get filled, you pay for it

When did this change? What is now charge-able and what isn't?

My husband was taken in and intravenous antibiotics were set up. We weren't billed afterwards! If he'd been given oral antibiotics instead (handed the tablets, not given a prescription), would we have been charged?

System

pinkteapot wrote: »

I must be in the ill-informed minority as I had no idea this would happen.

As far as I knew, when you go to A&E:
1) If a doctor/nurse gives you pills or other medication it's free
2) If they give you a prescription to go and get filled, you pay for it

When did this change? What is now charge-able and what isn't?

My husband was taken in and intravenous antibiotics were set up. We weren't billed afterwards! If he'd been given oral antibiotics instead (handed the tablets, not given a prescription), would we have been charged?

I'm guessing if you are actually admitted to the hospital its free. They surely can't bill you for medicine they give you as part of your treatment. I assume the charge is in place in the A & E to stop people trying to byepass the prescription system and get medicine for free.

Badger_Lady

I wouldn't have expected to pay - when the Doctor gave me the pills I would have just taken them and gone on my merry way.

However when the bill arrived, although I'd initially be surprised, I would think to myself "oh, prescription charges... of course, I guess that makes sense".

But since the OP is exempt from prescription charges anyway then all she has to sort out is paperwork. Sounds like a problem resolved to me

durham_girl

I'm also in the minority! I had no idea that if you accepted medication in A&E they would bill you for it. This is despite several trips for varying reasons and never any bills!

LisaB85 wrote: »

This is the praise vents and warning forum I forgot that it is forum where the OP complaining is ALWAYS the one at fault and posters will nit pick to let the OP know every little reason why it is their fault.

Silly me for thinking others may be unaware about the changes to A&E, doing a google search shows that it is a recent change and not all trusts follow the charges.

Don't listen to the few posters who seems to spend all their time on MSE arguing!

I would also suggest that if milliemonster talks to her patients in the same argumentative, patronising tone that has come across here, she would do well to work on her bedside manner!

pmduk

People on JSA are not automatically entitled to help with health care costs (including free prescriptions).

SnowMan

LisaB85 wrote: »

I'm on IB JSA at the mo do I still pay? x

As you are on income based JSA you can claim exemption from prescription charges see leaflet HC11 for full details.

Azari

pmduk wrote: »

People on JSA are not automatically entitled to help with health care costs (including free prescriptions).

Irrelevant as OP specified she is on income based JSA.

ince

pathetic. pay up if you are obliged to. you received the treatment. if you didnt want to pay you should have not accepted it regarless of your condition.