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Letters to the Editor
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Prescription charges
Review is long overdue
From Mrs M. S. Kapoor, MRPharmS
I note with interest the “Consultation on review of NHS prescription
charges and exemption arrangements” in Scotland. The existing flat
rate charge is unfair — it is difficult to justify one individual
paying £6.65 for 21 amoxicillin capsules and another paying the same
for 28 sibutramine capsules.
In terms of the medical exemption list, it will never be possible to explain
to a patient that, if only they had an under-active thyroid gland, they
would be able to get not just thyroid treatment, but any medicine free
of charge. Similarly, it will not be possible to explain why a patient
suffering from epilepsy is entitled to free prescriptions, yet one suffering
from asthma is not.
Why being pregnant or the mother of a child under one year old should entitle
a woman to free prescriptions is another quandary. One hopes that a pregnant
woman will not generally require any new medicine (pregnancy is not an
illness after all). Similarly, in the year after giving birth, there is
no medical reason for a woman to require further medicine. With so many
drugs being teratogenic and passing into breast milk, most physicians prefer
to steer clear of prescribing to pregnant or breastfeeding women whenever
possible.
There is no doubt that a review of charges and exemptions is long overdue — we
are using a system that dates back to 1968 and does not take into account
the altered demographics of today’s society. I shall eagerly await
a reform of NHS prescription charges and exemptions.
Monica Sharma Kapoor
Leeds |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal