From Mr R. A. Birchill, MRPharmS
SIR,—South Staffordshire health authority is imposing an “administration
fee” of £60 for the return of copies of prescriptions that have been
switched from Group 1 (exempt from prescription charges) to Group 2 (not exempt).
It is ridiculous that prescriptions which have not been signed by the doctor
are returned without charge, but copies of prescriptions that do not contain
a “satisfactory” declaration by the patient are returned at a cost
of £60.
I accept that there could be additional work if, on re-examination, some of
these prescriptions were moved back from Group 2 to Group 1, but the situation
could be that none were moved, in which case they should be treated as prescriptions
that are normally returned by the Prescription Pricing Authority, ie, without
charge.
A £60 administration fee can only be regarded as punitive. Our services
are rated at less than those of an office clerk. The National Health Service
operates on the goodwill of those who work in it but it must now be time to
switch off those services which are uneconomic and undervalued.
A fee of £21.18 for dispensing an emergency prescription in the night
is derisory. Compare this with the GPs’ night call out fee.
The Sunday rota fee is £25, but the labour costs, including National Insurance,
for a pharmacist and one assistant are at least £47.
I suspect that the 1p contractors received for checking a patient’s declaration
of exemption from prescription charges has been clawed back in one month.
Robert Birchill
Stone,
Staffordshire