The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7206 pp53-57
13 July 2002

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  Repeat dispensing
  Prescription charges
  Remuneration
  Jacob Bell
  ADR reporting
  Evidence-based medicine
  The Society

Letters to the Editor

Prescription charges

The benefits of a £1 charge

From Mr I. M. Thomas, MRPharmS

I agree with Jean Brown (PJ, 29 June, p903) regarding having a £1 prescription charge.

For the paying patient the gain is obvious. For the exempt patient the charge is not excessive and comparable with that for everyday luxuries.

For the pharmacy, the saving in checking and sorting time is undeniable.

And for the Government, the adjustment in benefits to ensure the average exempt patient is no worse off should not be excessive, especially considering the savings made in sorting and checking, the reduction in wastage and demand and the elimination of most of the fraud control department.

The figures involved should be available. If they could be published, we could see whether this simplification is obtainable.

Ivor Thomas
Pinner, Middlesex

Let us introduce a £1 stamp for NHS services

From Mr J. C. McClellan, MRPharmS

Once again the subject of prescription charges has reared its head (PJ, 15 June, p833, and 29 June, p903).

Why not introduce a National Health Service £1 stamp — which could perhaps be available from Post Offices?

A £1 stamp would be required:

• For consultation with a general practitioner (in this case the receptionist would file the stamp)
• For a prescription with any number of items presented at a pharmacy (in this case the pharmacist would stick the stamp on the back of the prescription, thus avoiding wordy exemptions, except perhaps for children)
• At an NHS dentist
• At an optician
• At NHS hospitals, including accident and emergency departments

I am convinced that such a stamp would remind the public of the value of the NHS and reduce the number of trivial demands we all know of, where self-treatment only is needed.

In all these examples no money would be handled by professionals, as Peter Jenkins has advocated (PJ, 29 June, p903).

J. C. McClellan
Leeds

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