The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7202 p827-832
15 June 2002

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This report comes from the Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP) meeting held in Dublin from 5 to 7 June 2002. The Journal's attendance was supported by the Proprietary Association of Great Britain

LibDems seek end to charges for chronic conditions

Prescription charges should be abolished for all chronic medical conditions, Paul Marsden, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury and Atcham, will say in a Private Members Bill to be tabled on 19 June.

The Liberal Democrats say that the current system where some patients with chronic medical conditions are exempt from all prescription charges, but patients with other conditions are not, is unfair. They note that the original criteria for exemption were for conditions that were readily identifiable and would call for prolonged continuous treatment in virtually all cases. This would apply to conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis and Parkinson's disease.

Support for the Liberal Democrats is coming from the National Asthma Campaign, the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales, the Parkinson's Disease Society, the National Association of Citizens' Advice Bureaux and the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Beverley Parkin, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's director of public affairs, told The Journal that the Society has repeated its view that the current exemption categories are anachronistic and unfair.

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