Prescription Charges

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society continues to call for the abolition of prescription charges in England – the only country in the UK where patients must pay for prescriptions.

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, surveys show how patients are increasingly stopping taking vital medicines due to the cost of prescription charges.

Pharmacists also continue to warn of the impact of prescription charges on patients.

Responding to a survey by the Pharmacists’ Defence Association and Royal Pharmaceutical Society, more than a third of pharmacists (35%) said they had seen an increase in patients declining prescriptions in the last 12 months due to the cost. The type of medicines being declined include those for blood pressure, inhalers, pain relief, statins and mental health.

In an NHS free at the point of delivery, nobody should face a financial barrier to accessing medicines.

Prescription charges are a stealth tax on health and increase the risk of avoidable hospital admissions when they stop people from taking medicines they need to stay well. This worsens health outcomes and adds further pressure on the health service.

We also continue to support the Prescription Charges Coalition, a group of more than 50 health organisations calling for the Government to widen eligibility for prescription charge exemptions for people with long-term conditions. For example, research from the York Health Economics Consortium has found that the NHS could save more than £20 million per year if the NHS scrapped prescription charges for people with Parkinson’s and inflammatory bowel disease alone.

The prescription charges system is confusing for patients in England, risks people not taking their medicines they need to stay well, and takes time away from health professionals who want to focus on patient care. This outdated and complex system should be abolished – at the very least the Government should commit to a review as a first step.