Patients in north-west England will be claiming their free prescriptions from next month under the government's overhauled benefits scheme, PSNC warned pharmacists this week.    

The government is launching the universal credit scheme – which will replace existing working-age benefits, including jobseeker's allowance – across Manchester and Cheshire from April. It will roll out the scheme across England by October.

Patients eligible for Universal Credit in Oldham, Tameside, Warrington and Wigan would be entitled to free prescriptions by signing to declare their exemption and ticking the usual box on the back of the prescription entitled ‘income-based jobseeker's allowance'.

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Patients would have to show the pharmacist a valid universal credit letter with their name on it before they could benefit from the exemption. However, two contractors in Warrington, Cheshire, including an officer of the North Cheshire St Helens and Knowsley LPC, told C+D this week that they had not been told about the scheme.

PSNC said the prescription form would not be changed before the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) extended the scheme across the rest of England.

Pharmacists outside Greater Manchester and Cheshire should also be aware of the changes because patients could get their prescriptions dispensed from any NHS community pharmacy, PSNC warned.

Universal credit aims to streamline the benefits system by bringing together working-age benefits into a single payment. It replaces income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, income support, child tax credits, working tax credits and housing benefit.

The DWP launched a toolkit yesterday (March 21) explaining the changes.