Comment on 1 April introduction of free prescriptions in Northern Ireland and 1 year anniversary since prescriptions were made free for people with cancer
01 April 2010

Neil Churchill, Asthma UK Chief Executive and Chair of the Prescription Charges Coalition, says: ‘Today marks a year since prescriptions became free for people with cancer. It is great news that those with cancer no longer have to pay for their prescriptions, but the Prescription Charges Coalition wants to see the system made fair for people with a range of long-term conditions who should not have to pay for vital medicines.

‘Prescriptions also become free in Northern Ireland from today, meaning that England is now the only place in the UK not to commit to a policy change on this important issue. It’s therefore extremely disappointing that when Health Minister Mike O’Brien announced the cost of prescriptions for 2010/11 last week, he didn’t give any indication of the Government’s response to Professor Gilmore’s review of prescription charges.

‘This is not just a matter of fairness - it is about a common sense approach to the management of long-term medical conditions, such as asthma, arthritis, heart disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and people who have suffered strokes. People with these conditions are struggling to afford their prescriptions in the current climate and are being forced into a position where they have to stretch their medicines or stop taking them because of the cost, which is simply unacceptable.

‘Making prescriptions free for people with long-term conditions will help them to self-manage effectively, reducing the long-term financial burden on the state. It is therefore imperative that all political parties commit to abolishing this unfair tax on health as part of their manifesto pledges.’

Some comments from people with long-term conditions affected by prescription charges:

Asthma

‘Last year, I nearly died after a severe asthma attack and I'm worried it will happen all over again as I just can't afford to renew my Pre-Payment Certificate at the moment. It's outrageous that Gordon Brown promised to implement free prescriptions 18 months ago and nothing has happened since’. Eddie

‘I have to put my family first before I can afford my 3 lots of medication a month.  I have 3 young children to feed.’ Claire

Parkinson’s
 
‘My drugs are my lifeline. Without them I would have no movement at all – I would be sitting in my house, looking out the window - unable to dress, wash, cook. So I ask myself: “why should I have to pay?”’ Anon

Multiple Sclerosis

Anon quote from a carer of a man with MS: ‘In the past six months the rise in fuel costs and Council Tax has exacerbated our difficulties to the extent that my husband is now refusing to take most of his previous medication and is gradually reducing the tablets he needs the most, in the hope that he can eventually manage with only the minimum dosage necessary to keep the worst of his symptoms at bay. The effect of this is his fatigue is much worse, his relapses are more frequent, he can do less and less, he is becoming more depressed and I, as his only Carer, am under the associated strain that his deteriorating health causes. This is affecting my health and my capacity to continue working full time’.

Crohn’s and Colitis

‘The cost of the Prescription charge at £7.20 per drug is expensive. Treatment for Crohn’s and Colitis often requires taking several medicines over long periods so the costs really mount up and become a significant extra burden on families whose income from work may already be reduced because of their illness.

I am supporting the call for free prescriptions as the current situation may be adding a financial barrier to patients taking all the medicines they need for their treatment to be effective.’ Lucy

Rheumatoid Arthritis

‘To charge people suffering with long term disabilities for their medications, when I am sure that many of them already contribute to the system (as I do), is completely unfair and will only serve to make a large percentage of the population feel alienated, let down and demoralised. As a sufferer, you have enough obstacles to face on a daily basis without the Government putting yet another one in the way!’ Nina

• Gordon Brown promised to deliver free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions in England at the Labour party conference in September 2008, but as yet no announcement has been made on this issue.
• Prescriptions become free for people in Northern Ireland from 1 April 2010, they are already free in Wales and will become free in Scotland next year.
• The Government has identified savings from the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme of around £550 million per year from 2010, which will be more than sufficient to cover the £250-£350 million cost, estimated by the Department of Health, of implementing free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions.
• Exempting people with long-term conditions from prescription charges would directly improve drug compliance and health outcomes among those who are struggling to afford their medicines. It is therefore likely that the NHS would be able to treat long-term conditions more cost effectively as a result of prescription charge exemption, given the evidence that under-treatment of long-term conditions due to cost issues results in increased use of health services. People who struggle to afford prescription charges adopt a number of coping strategies, including not going to see their GP (to avoid the prescription), not getting the prescription dispensed, or prioritising amongst different items.

There are 22 members of the Prescription Charges Coalition, including:

• Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group - www.aissg.org
• Arthritis Care - www.arthritiscare.org.uk
• Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus - www.asbah.org
• Asthma UK - www.asthma.org.uk
• Behcets Syndrome Society - www.behcets.org.uk
• British Heart Foundation - www.bhf.org.uk
• Diabetes UK - www.diabetes.org.uk
• Disability Alliance - www.disabilityalliance.org
• FibroAction - www.fibroaction.org
• Klinefelter’s Syndrome Association - www.ksa-uk.co.uk
• Mind - www.mind.org.uk
• Motor Neurone Disease Association - www.mndassociation.org
• MS Society - www.mssociety.org.uk
• National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society - www.nass.co.uk
• National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease - www.nacc.org.uk
• National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society - www.rheumatoid.org.uk
• Parkinson’s Disease Society - www.parkinsons.org.uk
• Pernicious Anaemia Society - www.pernicious-anaemia-society.org
• Rethink - www.rethink.org
• The Stroke Association - www.stroke.org.uk
• Skin Care Campaign - www.skincarecampaign.org
• Terrence Higgins Trust - www.tht.org.uk