The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7378 p679
3 December 2005

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Financial concerns over abolishing prescription charges

Abolishing NHS prescription charges got the thumbs down from the Scottish Parliament's finance committee last week.

It examined the financial consequences of a Bill that proposes the abolition of charges (PJ, 29 January, p105). The committee concluded that removing charges would lead to increased uptake of prescriptions and higher health service costs. It was not convinced that costs would be offset by fewer hospital admissions due to greater compliance.

“The committee is concerned that the costs of this Bill will result in a sizeable shortfall in the NHS budget and that it remains unclear as to how this shortfall will be addressed,” the report concludes.