Bednobs, it is always a possibility that the woman doesn't take some or all of the medication at all, but is feigning illness in order to claim benefit. Personally, I'm not assuming anything either way, just stating that it's possible.
Also, chemist's don't always automatically check for proof of exemption. Some do, some don't. Although from June 1999 there has been an incentive scheme in place to encourage pharmacists to be pro-active in the government's efforts to cut down on fraud. They can now receive a �70 reward for each reported case of prescription fraud when it leads to a genuine investigation.
The prescription pricing authority will do a random check on, I'm told, about 25% of the prescriptions that go through the system so the majority of fraudulent prescriptions generally go undetected.
By the way Therema, reporting her to the Benefits Agency will not affect her ability to sign a prescription and state that she is exempt from charges. It is an entirely seperate organisation that deals with that and the two are not connected. To report prescription fraud you would need to contact the NHS Counter Fraud Service on freephone 0800 028 4060, Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm.
CONT'D.....