Healthcare ...

No change to free prescription age rules

NHS PRESCRIPTION

CHARGES were introduced

71 years ago. They were abolished in 1962 but budgetary pressures led to their reintroduction 3 years later, though with exemptions for some patients.

There are variations in different parts of the United Kingdom. Nearly 90% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge, with the remainder generating income of around £600 million in 2022.

In England the age at which people receive free prescriptions is not linked to the state pension age, and they benefit from the age of 60. The gap is set to widen as legislation is in place to increase to the pension age to 67 then 68 in future years.

As the default retirement age has been abolished the Government thought that some people older than 60 who continue to work may be better placed to meet the cost of their prescriptions.

In order to consider the pros and cons of any change to the entitlement age, a consultation was undertaken to seek views on the options to end the age 60 rule and align the prescription charge exemption upper age to the state pension age. The majority of the 117,000 responses received were opposed to a rise in the upper age exemption, and after consideration the Government has decided that the prescription charge upper age exemption will remain at 60. The Government also confirmed that people under 16, or aged 17 and 18 but in full time education, will also continue to be exempt.

Community Pharmacy England, the representative body for community pharmacy owners in England, supports the removal of all NHS prescription charges. They argue that the charge places community pharmacy teams in an impossible position of policing a Government tax that many people cannot afford, whilst the money doesn’t benefit the pharmacies who collect it.

“We welcome the Government’s decision to keep NHS prescriptions free for all people aged 60 and over in England,” said Chief Executive Janet Morrison. “Having to pay for prescriptions often affects the most vulnerable people in our communities. The sad truth is that many people – whatever their age – are left having to make unbearable decisions about which medicines they can afford to pay for. Prescriptions are free of charge in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland so why not in England also?”

The British Medical Association also believes prescriptions should be free for all patients in England as they already are in the rest of the UK. “Prescription charges defeat the fundamental principle of healthcare under the NHS, namely that care is free at the point of delivery,” the BMA said in its response. “Abolishing prescription charges altogether is the fairest and the simplest option to protect the health and wellbeing of older people in England.”

Patients urged to consider using the NHS app

BOTH GROBY AND GLENFIELD surgeries no longer accept prescription requests over the phone, so many patients now use online services to access the NHS.

They find the facility to request repeat prescriptions from home on their computer or tablet a real time saver.

Some may use their mobile phone to access the links from the surgery website either at home or when they are out and about, but to do this they must ensure they remember their User ID and Password.

The NHS app has been specifically designed for those who want to access their details easily from their mobile phone or a tablet, and both surgeries are encouraging patients to consider using the app. It can be used to

• View and cancel GP appointments.

• Order your medications.

• Choose/change your nominated pharmacy.

• View aspects of your records as agreed with your GP

You can also

• Check your symptoms (111 online).

• Register as an organ donor.

• Find out how the NHS uses your data.

You need to prove who you are to get full access to the NHS App, but even before proving who you are, you can use the NHS App to search trusted NHS information and advice on hundreds of conditions and treatments and find local NHS services.

The app is available from Google Play and the App store, depending on your device, and includes the potential to set up facial recognition or fingerprint analysis instead of passwords. When deciding whether to take advantage of new facilities it’s always better to know upfront what is needed when setting up apps. There are videos and plenty of supporting information online to help patients understand the process.

Tne NHS app is proving a vital tool in encouraging the use of online sevices. Released in 2018, a study of app users found that nearly two thirds of people who registered for the App had never previously registered for an online service which connected to their GP practice. Users rated ordering repeat prescriptions as the most useful service on the app, followed by viewing their medical record. In the follow-up survey, 87% of users said they found ordering a repeat prescription easy and convenient.

Norman Griffiths