You are here: Home » Archives »

Make all prescriptions free – they already are in Scotland and Wales

March 5, 2009 2:33 pm

Author:

Share this Article

By Mike IonPrescription

All prescriptions are free in Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland will abolish prescription charges soon. And from April 1st this year Cancer patients, people under 19 and over 60 and those suffering from a list of illnesses (which probably seemed sensible in 1968) don’t have to pay for their prescriptions in England.

However, there is plenty of evidence that many poor people do not take medication, or sometimes do not even take medical advice, because of cost. I posted on my blog last month that I believe the time has come to abolish prescription charges in England and today’s announcement by the BMA is to be welcomed.

The principle that healthcare should be free at the point of delivery is a very sound one, and Governments repeatedly pledge their support to it. But for many poor people these pledges are not reflected in their experience. If we cannot do that straight away maybe we could enlarge the list of benefits which entitle the recipient to free prescriptions to include Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living Allowance? At present anyone whose weekly income is more than £3.65 above the Income Support poverty line has to pay the full cost. For single people under 25 – £51.60; 25 or over – £64.15. That means that many people on Incapacity Benefit long-term basic rate – £84.50 – have to pay in full.

It’s time to make healthcare – and that means prescriptions, too – free at the point of use.

What do others think?

Related posts:

  1. The English Patients
  2. Eddie Izzard and Kevin Spacey celebrate the launch of Labour’s free theatre scheme
  3. Wales points the way to our progressive potential
  4. Despite the downturn, Labour is building for the future in Wales

Comments are closed

Latest

  • Featured Becoming a Living Wage City – an ambition worth having

    Becoming a Living Wage City – an ambition worth having

    By Ian Stewart

    A cleaner met me on the corridor the other day as I was leaving the office and gave me a huge hug. “Thank you, City Mayor,” she told me “that’s been the best news for years.” After I had recovered from my embarrassment, I realised what she was talking about. Salford had just introduced the full Living Wage – becoming the first local authority in Greater Manchester to implement a full Living Wage of £7.45 for every member of staff [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Planning the revolution – Labour and the Spending Review

    Planning the revolution – Labour and the Spending Review

    By David Robinson

    In four weeks time the Chancellor will announce the results of the 2015 spending Review. There won’t be many winners but some will have lost more than others. Political commentators and discussion forums will pass judgement and public sector managers will, yet again, pick through the debris, making do and mending from what ever they can salvage. Before we get overtaken by the detail we should reflect on the bigger picture. What ever the chancellor says on June 26th it [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment A call for action at the G8

    A call for action at the G8

    By Ivan Lewis

    In less than a month’s time, the UK hosts the G8 Summit. With hunger, tax, trade and transparency all on the agenda, the UK has a unique opportunity to show global leadership on these issues. The scale of hunger is devastating. There is enough food in the world for everyone, yet 1 billion people still go hungry. 2.3 million children every year die from malnutrition – to put that in perspective, that is around 16,000 children every day. Or one [...]

    Read more →
  • News TUC suggests Football World Cup vote should be re-run – Media roundup: May 24th, 2013

    TUC suggests Football World Cup vote should be re-run – Media roundup: May 24th, 2013

    Subscribers to our morning email get the best of LabourList – including the Media and blog round up – every weekday morning. If you were a subscriber you would have already received this in your inbox. You can sign up here. TUC suggests Football World Cup vote should be re-run “The TUC along with its international equivalent – the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) – is calling on UEFA to address the appalling treatment of workers and players in Qatar and [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured A Northern Tory that Labour should be afraid of

    A Northern Tory that Labour should be afraid of

    By Mark Ferguson

    The Labour Party spends a great deal of time beating itself up over its performance in Southern England. We know it simply isn’t good enough, but we can’t seem to put our finger on why exactly that’s the case. Is it demographics? No. Culture? Perhaps. Lack of basic party organisation in some areas? It’s certainly a factor. But whilst we’re flagellating ourselves over our inability to perform south of the Watford gap (outside of London), we should remember that the [...]

    Read more →