“NHS prescription charges in England will be frozen for the first time in three years,” the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) today (April 28) announced.
The frozen £9.90 charge is set to “save patients around £18 million next year”, it said.
Read more: DH raises prescription charges for second year running
“Three-month and annual prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) will also be frozen for 2025/26” at £32.05 and £114.50 respectively, it added.
“Annual charges can be made in instalments meaning those requiring regular medicines will be able to get them for just over £2 a week,” it revealed.
The DH added that the news comes amid “record investment” for community pharmacies.
“Possible” due to budget
“Fixing our NHS will be a long road – but by working closer with our pharmacies we’re saving money and shifting care to the community where it’s closer to your home,” health secretary Wes Streeting said.
“This government’s plan for change will always put working people first,” he added.
And Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that the government “promised to build an NHS fit for the future”.
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“Since then, waiting lists are falling, staff are better paid and supported, and today £18 million has been kept in patient’s pockets by freezing prescription charges,” she added.
The DH stressed that the freeze was “only possible thanks to the government’s difficult but necessary choices at the budget” – which included increased National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for pharmacy owners.
“Tax collectors”
National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chair Nick Kaye today deemed the announcement “good news for patients and pharmacies”.
“However, we’ve long called for the prescription charge to be scrapped,” he said, adding that the charge “acts as a barrier to some patients accessing vital medication”.
“This is something we’d urge the government to work towards,” he added.
“As pharmacists, we are healthcare professionals and have no interest in being tax collectors,” he said.
Read more: HRT prescription items soar 22% after PPC introduction
The news comes as the Welsh government last week (April 22) celebrated the 18th anniversary of becoming the first UK nation to have free prescriptions.
“Since 2007, Welsh pharmacies have dispensed more than one billion items, helping millions manage their health conditions effectively and free of charge,” it said.
Northern Irish pharmacies have dispensed free prescriptions to patients since 2010, while Scottish pharmacies began offering them in 2011.
