Pharmacy bodies have urged the government to scrap prescription charges in next week’s budget after a recent poll found that one in 10 patients in England went without a necessary medicine last year due to “concerns about cost”.
The survey of almost 1,800 people, commissioned by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and published today, also revealed that 12% of adults “delayed getting a medicine last year due to concerns about the prescription charge”.
A further 41% reported being “worried about being unable to afford their NHS prescriptions”, it said.
“National scandal”
The body said it is “a national scandal that patients were deterred from accessing medicines due to cost”.
It added that pharmacists have been left in “an impossible position”, with patients on multiple medications asking which are “most important to take” when faced with cost struggles.
According to the survey, 80% of people thought it was “unfair” that England is the only UK nation where patients must pay a fee for their medicines.
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Prescription charges were abolished in Wales in 2007, followed by Northern Ireland in 2010 and Scotland in 2011.
The NPA said pharmacists are “forced to act as tax collectors for the government” while receiving “none of the revenue from prescription charges”, adding that the fees “swelled Treasury coffers by £732m last year”.
And Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has joined the NPA in its call for the end of prescription charges.
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CPE director of research and insights Dr James Davies said the budget next week is an opportunity for the chancellor to “remove one of the most unfair costs facing patients”.
He added that prescription charges “also add to the workload of already stretched community pharmacy teams”, and that scrapping them “would remove a barrier to essential medicines while also simplifying the system for both patients and pharmacy teams”.
“Healthcare should be based on clinical need, not ability to pay,” he said.
“Cruel tax on illness”
NPA chair Olivier Picard said the results of the survey are “alarming” and described prescription charges as a “cruel tax on illness” where “some patients are exempt but others are forced to pay”.
“If the chancellor wants to tackle the rising cost of living and health inequalities, he should bring England into line with the rest of the UK and scrap this unfair and complex prescription tax,” he added.
“Pharmacists are health professionals, not tax collectors. They should spend their time helping patients, not administering an unfair tax on illness.”
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The NPA noted that while some patients are exempt from prescription charges due to their age or health condition, many with long-term conditions such as asthma, Crohn’s and multiple sclerosis must still pay.
Asthma + Lung UK chief executive Sarah Sleet said patients dealing with lung conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease “face the double blow of unaffordable prescription charges alongside increased heating bills”.
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She said that “because respiratory conditions aren’t included on the prescription charges exemptions list, people are left essentially paying for their right to breathe”.
“Being able to take medication shouldn’t come down to whether or not you can afford it,” she added.
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Crohn’s & Colitis UK chief executive officer Marianne Radcliffe said the list of conditions exempt from charges is “outdated” and “urgently needs reviewing to include Crohn’s, colitis and other life-changing long-term conditions”.
“No one should have to make difficult choices between paying their bills and getting the treatment they need to stay well,” she added.
“Life with a chronic illness is challenging enough without the added burden of financial pressure.”
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It comes after NPA chief executive Henry Gregg said the 10-year health plan announced last July is “not really a plan”.
And it follows NPA vice chair Sukhi Basra, speaking at this year’s Pharmacy Show, urging community pharmacies to “do their due diligence” when deciding whether to implement independent prescribing.
