Gordon - keep your prescription promise!

Posted Tuesday 22 September 2009

As the country begins to gear up for the Labour Party Conference, it's a good time to look back at what's happened since the last conference in 2008. Exactly one year ago, Gordon Brown vowed to scrap prescription charges for all people with long term conditions. This was received as a great step forward.

For years, charities, pressure groups and service users have been calling for this very thing. With the prescription charge constantly rising, many people find their burden just too much. In fact, around 800,000 people a year fail to collect their prescriptions simply because of the cost. As one Mind supporter says:

I've often had to stretch out medications or self-medicate because I can't afford another prescription. Or I don't take medications designed to off-set the adverse effect of other medications because I can only afford one prescription.

Obviously, medication is not the best treatment for everyone, but when a person does feel it will be beneficial it is simply unjust that they can be prevented from doing so because of the cost. That's why Mind is part of the Prescription Charges Coalition that is calling on prescription charges for all those with long term conditions to be eliminated as a matter of urgency.

A whole year has already gone by and the hundreds of thousands of people with long term conditions still have to pay an ever rising prescription charge. Visit Prescription Promise website today to sign our petition asking Gordon Brown to keep his promise.

Find our more on this issue by visiting our Prescription charges page.

Mariam Kemple, Policy and Campaigns Officer

<  Return to mind blog

1 Comment

• Lesley Campbell replied on 22 Sep 2009 at 14:02

  Although in theory this is the morally right thing to do and should be welcomed, I am not sure it is practically right at the moment with the current budget deficits.

  For those of us on multiple and regular prescriptions (I get roughly 8 prescriptions a month, although this has been as high as about 25!) Pre-payment certificates (or my all I can eat card as I call it) are affordable and provide good value, whilst still putting a bit of money into the NHS. The actual cost of my medication is huge, but I don't mind contributing a little to this cost.

  Those that are on benefits also don't pay for prescriptions. This means that a lot of people with long term conditions are exempt anyway, as many will be on IB or ESA.

  I would have thought most people could afford the cost of the pre-payment cert or would be exempt anyway, so I think this wouldn't affect too many people. The money saved could be put to better use elsewhere in the NHS - reducing therapy waiting times for example.

  I also think the free prescriptions in Wales demonstrates this to a degree. Welsh waiting lists are generally far greater than those in England. The money raised used to fund free scripts could go towards reducing these waiting lists.