Scottish budget commits £97m to phase out prescription charges

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The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7479 p578
24 November 2007

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Scottish budget commits £97m to phase out prescription charges

Dandan Fan and Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon (right), pictured with pharmacy student Dandan Fan, visited the University of Strathclyde’s school of pharmacy last month. She commented that pharmacists will take on increasing responsibilities in future

An investment of £97m over three years will be made to phase out NHS prescription charges in Scotland. This is one of the spending commitments set out by the Scottish Government in its budget last week.

Explaining the implications of the budget for the health service, Nicola Sturgeon, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, said:

“It’s our priority to focus on measures which improve health and prevent illness. There can be no doubt that reducing alcohol and tobacco abuse leads to healthier lifestyles, so these will be key spending priorities over the next three years.”

Spending commitments over the next three years include £350m on health improvement, £270m on cutting waiting times and £30m to ensure more flexible access to primary care. Funding will also be made available for disease prevention and detection, infection prevention, and improving participation in sports.

CMO report Health improvement is the key theme of this year’s annual report by Scotland’s chief medical officer. The report, published this week, concentrates on early interventions that can be made in childhood in order to achieve a healthly adulthood.