Local shop charging for picking up medication

custardy

KeithP said:

GeordieGeorge said:

ElefantEd said:

MattMattMattUK said:

KleboldKlan said:

No one should be having to pay for their own medication! 

The vast majority of us have to pay for any medication we require, most people have to pay prescription charges. 

Another great reason to live in Scotland - no prescription charges here!

It’s not as though they don’t still have to be paid for by someone.

Probably by the people south of the border.

Another buying into the !!!!!! funding.
Perhaps ask your government why they aren't free in England.
Mind I suppose you would prefer they charged you for the vaccine too?

user1977

KeithP said:

GeordieGeorge said:

ElefantEd said:

MattMattMattUK said:

KleboldKlan said:

No one should be having to pay for their own medication! 

The vast majority of us have to pay for any medication we require, most people have to pay prescription charges. 

Another great reason to live in Scotland - no prescription charges here!

It’s not as though they don’t still have to be paid for by someone.

Probably by the people south of the border.

That's right, it's well-known that nobody in Scotland needs to pay any tax.

JamoLew

custardy said:

KeithP said:

GeordieGeorge said:

ElefantEd said:

MattMattMattUK said:

KleboldKlan said:

No one should be having to pay for their own medication! 

The vast majority of us have to pay for any medication we require, most people have to pay prescription charges. 

Another great reason to live in Scotland - no prescription charges here!

It’s not as though they don’t still have to be paid for by someone.

Probably by the people south of the border.

Another buying into the !!!!!! funding.
Perhaps ask your government why they aren't free in England.
Mind I suppose you would prefer they charged you for the vaccine too?

Nice graph - cant help thinking it will look very different in 6-8 weeks when the roles reverse

sheramber

robatwork said:

Can someone explain how this works as I've never heard of it before?

You get a prescription from the docs and it's delivered to a local Spar or similar and they hold it for you?

I lived in a rural area. my GP was 17 miles away.

I could phone  for a repeat prescription or order online.
I could drive 17 miles each way to collect or I could request it be delivered to the local village shop. It was delivered to the shop by Royal Mail each afternoon. he collected the bag when he called for the surgery mail.

 The shop keeper kept the medication until you collected it.

he was doing a favour for the community which was mainly elderly.

Personally, we always bought something when we collected our prescription , even it was only some sweets. Like all corner shops prices were more expensive than the supermarket 20 miles away  but was convenient for a odd item.

ElefantEd

Scottish Income tax is slightly higher than in the rest of the UK. I'm happy to pay the extra if it means free prescriptions, eyetests etc etc as this benefits poorer people. The authorities in England, Wales and NI could certainly choose to have free prescriptions, it would be perfectly affordable (and would save a lot of admin); but they don't.

pallyman

If they charge £2.99 for a tin of beans i would steer clear anyway.

Torry_Quine

ElefantEd said:

Scottish Income tax is slightly higher than in the rest of the UK. I'm happy to pay the extra if it means free prescriptions, eyetests etc etc as this benefits poorer people. The authorities in England, Wales and NI could certainly choose to have free prescriptions, it would be perfectly affordable (and would save a lot of admin); but they don't.

Prescriptions are free in Wales and N Ireland as well as Scotland.

GeordieGeorge

custardy said:

KeithP said:

GeordieGeorge said:

ElefantEd said:

MattMattMattUK said:

KleboldKlan said:

No one should be having to pay for their own medication! 

The vast majority of us have to pay for any medication we require, most people have to pay prescription charges. 

Another great reason to live in Scotland - no prescription charges here!

It’s not as though they don’t still have to be paid for by someone.

Probably by the people south of the border.

Another buying into the !!!!!! funding.
Perhaps ask your government why they aren't free in England.
Mind I suppose you would prefer they charged you for the vaccine too?

It’s because of the subsidy paid from England to Scotland via the Barnet formula.

It’s as though Flodden never happened.

mattyprice4004

GeordieGeorge said:

custardy said:

KeithP said:

GeordieGeorge said:

ElefantEd said:

MattMattMattUK said:

KleboldKlan said:

No one should be having to pay for their own medication! 

The vast majority of us have to pay for any medication we require, most people have to pay prescription charges. 

Another great reason to live in Scotland - no prescription charges here!

It’s not as though they don’t still have to be paid for by someone.

Probably by the people south of the border.

Another buying into the !!!!!! funding.
Perhaps ask your government why they aren't free in England.
Mind I suppose you would prefer they charged you for the vaccine too?

It’s because of the subsidy paid from England to Scotland via the Barnet formula.

It’s as though Flodden never happened.

Don’t tell them that - you’ll pop the FREEEEEDOM bubble 🙃

Pollycat

MattMattMattUK said:

KleboldKlan said:

No one should be having to pay for their own medication! 

The vast majority of us have to pay for any medication we require, most people have to pay prescription charges. 

GeordieGeorge said:

KleboldKlan said:

Any advice on what to do? This shouldn’t be happening. No one should be having to pay for their own medication! 

Most of us do pay for our own medication.

Why should the shop do it for free? What do you do for them for free in exchange; do you help to take the deliveries in, or maybe go round after closing and clean the floors?

I'm giving the OP the benefit of the doubt and believing that he didn't mean 'No one should be having to pay for their own medication' but meant instead 'No one should be having to pay to collect their own medication'.

The OP doesn't say how much this shop is charging.

He goes on about how charging for collection may affect an 'elderly person or a disabled person who doesn’t get much in benefits' but each individual should be able to decide if the charge is worth the convenience of maybe not have to get the car out or catch a bus to collect their prescription for free.

This sounds rather odd though:

KleboldKlan said:

Our local shop has said that they will now be charging us for picking up our own medication? Is this legal? I changed mine to now be delivered from my surgery since finding out this. 

It just seems really wrong to charge people who need their medication to pick it up? What happens if they can’t afford to pick it up? Or they are an elderly person or a disabled person who doesn’t get much in benefits? Since the coronavirus people have lost their jobs and lost a lot of money coming in for bills and groceries. This just doesn’t sit right to me. Is there anything I can do to stop this happening? I fear a lot of people are going to stop picking up medication because of this because this shop isn’t cheap, the shop owner charged 2.99 for one tin of beans so I don’t hold out hope that it will be cheap! 

Any advice on what to do? This shouldn’t be happening. No one should be having to pay for their own medication! 

It sounds like a shop that I would be avoiding like the plague.