Over 5,000 people have told us about the impact that prescription charges are having on their working lives. Read our reports here.
On 1st April 2016, prescription charges in England will increase again to £8.40. We are calling for people with long term conditions to be added to the medical exemption list. Look out for details of how you can get involved in this. Read our campaign blog for all the latest updates and more information. 
If you would like to make a comment or suggestion about the campaign or can add your support, please get in touch here.
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"I could not afford the prescribed medication for anxiety, so thought I'd try and go without, ended up having panic attacks and losing my job"
"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" "Last year, I nearly died after a severe asthma attack and I'm worried that it will happen all over again and I can't afford my Prescription Prepayment Certificate at the moment" “Some time ago, when I had less money, I was having to spend a larger percentage of my income on migraine medications, the stress of which then contributed to further migraines.” "Rheumatoid arthritis is for life. A chronic disease with no cure. The quality of my life is dependent on a cocktail of 10 different drugs. With them, I can almost live a normal life, without them, I would be a burden on society, needing constant long term care at a huge cost to the state" 35% of those who had paid for each prescription item had not collected medication because of the cost. Three quarters of this group said their health had got worse as a result. 10% reported that they had been admitted to hospital as a direct consequence of not taking their medicine as prescribed. Paying the Price research Research by Rethink Mental Illness showed that 38% of people with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia have had to choose between paying household bills and paying prescription charges. |
