'You didn’t die as a child? Pay for your prescription' blog discussion

Gordonfred

There are alot of illness where you have to pay for your prescription ie M.S. which my wife suffers from.The whole system needs to be looked at as it costs so much these days. The government also does not like giving any one any money to help as someones career

livvy1966

As a mother 2 son's who both have Cystic Fibrosis (I was also at this year's Breathing Life Awards as a guest of the same person who paid for the table Martin sat at), I cannot begin to add up how much their medication would cost NOW to keep them well. 4 lot's of antibiotics between them every single day, nebulised antibiotics, inhalers, vitamins, along with the Enzymes they take well over 200 a week between them. How they will ever beable to afford all this should they have to pay for it is beyond me.
The system needs a definite shake - people with Cystic Fibrosis are living longer and leading full lives - bring legislation back into this century and help those who need it desparately NOW.

hardpressed

Circlip, if your grandson is in full time education he will not have to pay for prescriptions until he is 19.

In my earlier poet I wasn't meaning that people on Thyroxine should pay I was just using that as an example of how the system is unfair.

cytokitty

I suffer from psoriasis (chronic skin condition) and arthritis which requires bucketfuls of lotions, creams and tablets. I think its great that certain conditions qualify for free prescriptions (mine doesn't) but those prescriptions need to be limited to that specified condition.

Its about time the government got its act together to stop someone with a 'listed' condition being able to have ALL their prescriptions for free. The huge sums of money saved could then be used to add more conditions to the list of diseases qualifying for exemption.

The current system in place is grossly unfair!

circlip

hardpressed wrote: »

Circlip, if your grandson is in full time education he will not have to pay for prescriptions until he is 19.

Yes you are right hardpressed, but (Fact of life: there's always a but!)

Sadley free or prepaid some of the medication he needs is not coverd and is only available via the hospital prescription.

hardpressed

A hospital prescription should still be free while he's under 19 and in full time education, unless it's a private prescription from a private hospital.

suzialwaysbroke

Just to add to this, my DD2 has cystinosis - very rare metabolic disease. She is now 23 & has to pay for her prescriptions. she currently has the pp cert which still costs over £100 per year. I feel this is grossly unfair that she is not exempt. When she was diagnosed as a baby, she also (like the CF children) was not expected to get beyond her teens. I know that her drugs are expensive, but for a lifetimes illness, surely the list of diseases should be bought more up to date?

Suzi

spacerus22

I was diagnosed with hypertension eleven years ago it was so high 277/135 that I was put into hospital immediately. I have been on up to three medications a day since then. My twin brother has an overactive, or underactive, thyroid this means he got free prescriptions. My wife who worked for a doctor at the time was told, the thyroid problem would make you feel unwell, but it won't kill you!! Whereas my hypertension could have easily caused a stroke or heart attack. Or so I was told. My solution, obviously was a pre payment certificate. It was not painful to write out a check for £90 or so, but very painful to pay £18 every four weeks in cash!! We vare both over 60 now so it is academic, but the inequities for others persist.

Littlejanner

I meet my now husband just as Kidney failure took hold of him aged 20.

It was love at first sight and his illness was not going to put me off.

20 years later we are still together, thanks to a kidney transplant, but somtimes it has not been easy.

In the early years of our marriage the cost of all his prescriptions was huge and we were on a non existant budget, yet without the tablets.............

He still takes many tablets, cant survive without them , but what can you do?

The law needs to be changed NOW for every one who relys on their medication to have them free.

It makes me so mad sometimes, i really want to do something about it. Does any one know who the right person is to contact to get the law changed?

celtic_charmer

I receive free medication as I need both Thyroxine and tablets to help control my diabetes, but like many others cannot bring myself to claim for things that I am "entitled" to but can get over the counter at a chemists.

When I first heard about CF sufferers not getting free medication I was disgusted, and promptly signed the online petition for this.

I know it's not much but if we can get enough signatures then something might be done? (I'm an optimist)

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/cystic/