The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7257 p40
12 July 2003

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Call for NHS charges to be reviewed

A coalition of medical and consumer organisations is calling for the system of charges made under the National Health Service, including prescription charges, to be reviewed.

Writing in The Independent on 8 July, the signatories to a letter say that the system has become incoherent, with creeping charges emerging. They note that while prescription charges have increased, the list of medical exemptions has not been updated since 1968. Systems designed to help those on low incomes are not working effectively either, they add. They call for a fundamental review of the system designed to answer the question: "What is the purpose of charges in a tax-funded NHS that is based on clinical need rather than the ability to pay?"

The 14 signatories to the letter include representatives of the British Medical Association, Help the Aged, the National Consumer Council and the Social Market Foundation.