Prescription Charges Coalition condemns further prescription charge increases

11/3/2014

The Prescription Charges Coalition of 30 organisations and charities, are extremely disappointed to hear that the Government has announced a further 20p per item increase in prescription charges to £8.05 from 1st April 2014 in England. Worse still, the charge will rise to £8.25 from April 2015.

In response, Crohn’s and Colitis UK Chief Executive David Barker, lead organisation for the Prescription Charges Coalition said today:

“Millions of people with long-term conditions will be bitterly disappointed by the Government’s short-sighted decision to put up the cost of their essential medicines by 40p over the next two years.

“Already, over one third of people in work with a long-term condition find it hard to pay for their prescriptions and are rationing or stopping taking their medicines, compromising their health. These unfair, outdated and inequitable charges are forcing more people with long term heath conditions into medicine poverty and we continue to call for the government to follow the strong example set by the other UK countries and abolish prescription charges for people with long term chronic health conditions”.

Help support our campaign by signing our online petition, calling on the Government to end prescription charges for everyone in England with a long-term condition. The Coalition has also written a report, examining the impact of prescription charges on work.

6 Comments

Roland

12/3/2014 03:13:12

I think The Public needs to get behind this campaign but overall I think Prescriptions should be done away with like the rest of the UK.
Why is it that the English just lay down to it.
Come on wake up England.

Lucy Robinson

13/3/2014 13:29:20

I can not afford to treat my ulcerative colitis properly due to my financial position, meaning I buy them every so often only when I'm desperate. This has resulted in myself having no improvement of my disease and I have developed anaemia, of which I can not over come even with food supplements and my purchasing of on-off prescriptions. I developed this 3 years ago and am now a 26 year old woman; To have the daily ongoing stress of this is hard enough, without being able to treat yourself due to money having to go on ever rising bills. I can not see a light at the end of the tunnel as I am stuck in a viscous circle. It has an impact on my work, concentration, social life, friends, family, home life, fitness and my general health and happiness. It's sad to see so many people suffer and not get the support they all deserve! It's about time something is done and I'm so pleased to see this petition.
It gives a small amount of hope that is truly deserved by all!

Mick

20/3/2014 08:38:38

Hi all having been diagnosed with a lung tumour in July 2014 i had to have my top lung lobe removed and then while recovering from this over the next 3 months the doctors thought i had started having problems with IBD because i had been taking so many drugs for the recovery of this but then i was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis whether this was brought on by the first operation no one is quite sure i am still suffering with nerve pain from the first operation while also dealing with the colitis at the moment my life is in turmoil the doctors are quite confident they have removed any further chance of the cancer returning but having said this the colitis is by far the worst thing i have ever been through i have worked all my life bringing up my 3 children and never had to recieve a penny in handouts from the government i have worked 60- 70 hours per week because the wages are not able to give us a half decent life on minimum wage this is not a sob story it is reality over the last year and a half i have not been able to do a full weeks work due to trying to get the colitis into remission may work 1,2 or 3 days if i am lucky because of suffering with the loss of blood sickness and diarreah 24 hours a day the doctors and nurses have been fantastic with me and couldnt have wishedf any more from them but from the financial side now being 50 years old and paid into the sytem since i left school i cant even claim a free prescription if i packed my job in and was out of work because i can hardly cope on doing a couple of days work and claimed sickness benefit i could get them free ????????????????????????????????????????

Isobel Gibson

20/3/2014 08:45:23

I am now entitled to free prescriptions - due to old age. As an asthmatic I was not eligible for help with the five medications I need regularly and the further four prescribed frequently to control the asthma or side effects of steroids. My two sisters who have underactive thyroids are eligible for free prescriptions. I don't understand why some life threatening conditions are excluded from the free prescription scheme but not others.

Rebecca Taylor

11/4/2014 02:59:24

What frustrates me the most, is that those who have conditions such as underactive thyroids, get free prescriptions for any medication they require, which isn't related to their underactive thyroid. I have known people to be able to obtain hayfever medication, which I wasn't aware was a life threatening condition! I have Crohn's disease and I have to get by on the pre-payment certificate. However, why should we have to pay more out for having a life threatening condition, that the Government don't seem to find as important as other conditions? I assume no one in Parliament is a sufferer of Crohn's disease???? This condition is treated as if it's a life choice that we've made. Here's a radical idea, would it not be more cost effective to allow those who already obtain free prescriptions to only get the medication that they require to treat the life threatening condition, rather than all their medication? That way it could possibly free up some spare cash for the rest of us who also have live threatening conditions and have to purchase a huge bag of medication every month. The way these benefits are divided up is disgusting. I have never once claimed any sort of handout, and yet myself and others are being punished for having been diagnosed with a condition that we have had zero control over.

mandy

16/5/2015 10:52:36

Hi i totaly believe that anyone with a life long illness should get free prescriptions. I have crohns and have a bag full of meds and supplement drinks each month . I have to use pre payment cert to be able to get them and on mimium wage struggle to pay for that each month. Its a crime !!!

Prescription Charges Coalition condemns further prescription charge increases

Leave a Reply.

Activity

Archives

Categories