Thousands with long-term conditions skipping treatments
- Charities say patients are skipping treatments because they are too expensive
- Patients in England now pay £8.60 per item prescription after a recent 20p rise
- Prescriptions are currently free to get in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Ben Spencer, Medical Correspondent For The Daily Mail
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Thousands of people with long-term health conditions are skipping medications because of prescription costs, charities have claimed.
Research for the Prescription Charges Coalition suggests 30 per cent of people who have conditions such as asthma and arthritis, and are not eligible for free prescriptions, sometimes skip their drugs or reduce their dose because of cost.
Of those, 43 per cent cite the cost of their prescription as a reason for doing so, and 59 per cent admit skipping doses has had a negative impact on their health.
Some 34 per cent of those who have missed or reduced their dose have required extra medical treatment – such as GP or hospital appointments – as a result.
Charities are suggesting that some patients are skipping their prescriptions because of costs
The poll of 4,200 people was conducted by a group of 40 health charities which campaigns to abolish prescription charges for those with long-term conditions.
Patients in England pay £8.60 per item prescription, following a 20p rise that came into force in April.
Prescriptions in Scotland, on the other hand, have been free since 2011, and in Wales and Northern Ireland for longer.
Patients who take a lot of drugs can save costs by purchasing ‘pre-payment certificates’, which cost £29.10 for three months or £104 for 12 months.
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But the Prescription Charges Coalition found few people knew about these options, with 40 per cent of patients only learning about them more than a year after diagnosis.
Laura Cockram, head of policy and campaigning at Parkinson’s UK, which co-chairs the coalition, said: ‘We’ve heard distressing and alarming experiences from people who are facing impossible choices over whether they should eat, heat their home or pay for essential medications to treat life-threatening conditions.
Research for the Prescription Charges Coalition suggests 30 per cent of people who have conditions such as asthma and arthritis sometimes skip their drugs
‘It’s a travesty that prescription charges are preventing people from getting the treatment they need. This situation is dangerous and goes against the very principle of our NHS.
‘We also believe the charges are draining vital resources and costing the NHS more in the long term, due to people’s need to access GP and hospital care when they can’t afford their medication.’
Free prescriptions for all would cost the NHS £360million to £430million a year, the group calculates. They claim the treatment cost of people skipping their medication probably outweighs this.
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