House of Commons debate on Prescription Charges - Wed 10th July!

9/7/2013

As a result of Prescription Charges Coalition campaigning, Lib Dem MP Sir Bob Russell, has secured a Parliamentary debate on prescription charges on Wednesday evening. We need as many MPs as possible to speak, to show the Government how serious an issue this is.

Use this UK Parliament tool (http://bit.ly/N3rCh) to identify your MP and their e-mail address, facebook or twitter handle, and ask them to go along and represent you in the debate! Use the hashtag #prescriptioncharges.

You (and your MP) can also find a briefing below, that we've put together ahead of the debate to provide some background information.

prescription_charges_coalition_briefing_paper_july_2013.pdf
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1 Comment

S. Perrin

9/7/2013 06:22:26

i'm particularly keen to see the blanket 28 day prescription sorted. It impacts heavily on my daily life.. I am always struggling to ensure that I have sufficient medication to tide me over when I am travelling. I have ended up going without on far too many occasions. Must my life be so tethered to my surgery's dispensing hours? Many of us do not enjoy the luxury of a 9 to 5 one-location existence and our incomes are dependent on being able to travel nationally and internationally with support from our health care providers. On one occasion, knowing that I needed medication to tide me over a planned trip, my doctor helpfully prescribed sufficient to cover. The DISPENSARY refused to issue more than the 28 days and consequently I was put in a situation of being without the drugs that keep me "fit for work and travel". Thus my travel insurance was also invalidated.
Far more needs to be done to KEEP people in work when they fall ill. This bureaucracy, coupled with the cost of my medications, is proving to be as stressful and difficult to deal with as my illness itself. I am being actively prevented from continuing my normal life by policies which pay no heed to individual circumstances and needs.
Interestingly, when I arranged for my routine blood testing and checks to be done at a local clinic in France on my last trip.. I was told that my condition (RA) was covered "a cent pour cent" there. In other words, were I a French resident I would pay nothing at all for my care or my prescriptions since the state had defined my need as exceptional. RA figures on the list of "requiring 100% coverage".

We need a workable plan for those struggling with long-term conditions. What we don't need are added obstacles to maintaining our normality.

House of Commons debate on Prescription Charges - Wed 10th July!

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