Health Minister urged to follow Gordon Brown’s lead on prescription charges
26 September 2008

Asthma UK Northern Ireland is calling for an urgent decision to be made on prescription charging in Northern Ireland, following the announcement by Gordon Brown at the Labour Party conference that prescriptions are to be abolished for all people with long-term conditions in England.

As prescriptions are already free in Wales and Scotland is currently reducing the cost so that there will be no charges by 2011, Northern Ireland is now the only area of the UK where people with asthma and other long-term conditions will still have to pay for their medicines.

Laragha Gleeson, 22, from Londonderry, says: ‘My asthma has got much worse recently but I just can’t afford to be ill as it means buying more medicines to keep my symptoms under control.  My family is now helping me to pay for my treatment but there have been times when I’ve stopped using my inhalers because of the cost and have ended up seriously ill in A&E. Free prescriptions would be life-changing for me as I wouldn’t ever need to put my health at risk again and wouldn’t need to rely on my family for financial support.’

Director of Asthma UK Northern Ireland, Joan O’Hagan says: ‘Gordon Brown’s announcement adds pressure on the Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, to announce his decision on prescription charging as soon as possible. Our opinion research has shown that 36% of people with asthma pay for their medicines in Northern Ireland and almost half of them tell us they find it difficult to pay for their treatment. Many of these people are forced to stop taking their medicines because they simply cannot afford them, which can result in debilitating asthma attacks and put their lives in danger.’

1. For further information, contact the Asthma UK media office on 020 7786 4949 or at mediaoffice@asthma.org.uk.
2. Asthma UK is the charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of 5.2 million people in the UK whose lives are affected by asthma.
3. More than 150,000 people in Northern Ireland have asthma: 115,000 adults and 35,000 children.
4. For up-to-date news on asthma, information and publications, visit the Asthma UK website asthma.org.uk.
   
   For independent and confidential advice on asthma, call the Asthma UK Adviceline, which is staffed by asthma nurse specialists. It is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm on 08457 01 02 03. Or email an asthma nurse at asthma.org.uk/adviceline.