Prescription Charges.....

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24985242
Are these idiots incapable of arithmetic? They might as well abolish it altogether, only about 3 people ever pay anyway.

[Sqad]

3T....then your assumptions are incorrect.

I am all for free medicine for those that cannot afford it.......I have worked in the NHS.....it has many...very many fine points.
BUT it is in need of reform....urgent need, but the politicians are too scared to enforce the changes.

[bednobs]

"don't turn this into your favourite subject sqad"
why not? Other people have turned it into their "pet" subject ie immigration!

[dave50]

Yes, I was behind a foreign type at the prescription counter at Tesco's the other week. She couldn't speak a word of English except one, which was the word 'free', which she repeated 3 or 4 times to make sure she got the point across. Made my blood boil.

[bazwillrun]

"Other people have turned it into their "pet" subject ie immigration!

but then i suppose you think anybody stepping off the boat is entitled to all sorts of free handouts...dont worry that they havent paid a penny into this country and couldnt care less about it...just as long as its free and they can get it

[EDDIE51]

A lot of prescribed meds cost less than the prescription charge anyway. Amazing how many people are prepared to pay £8 whatever or some pills that cost £2 or so. You can often save money by buying the item over the counter ( a lot of prescribed meds are available over the counter) or on a private prescription where you pay the actual cost of the item.
TTT it will cost no more to 'administer' the system when the charge is £10 than it does now, but more cash will be collected.

[bednobs]

i never said that at all Baz, on the contrary, i am with sqad in thinking that EVERYONE should pay for their prescriptions. It boils my blood to hear people moaning about the prescription charge - because although some are cheaper than the charge, a lot are much more expensive than the charge

[mikey4444]

Move to the glorious Peoples Republic of Wales and you have to pay any prescription charges at all...one of the many advantages of living in a Tory-free zone !

[THECORBYLOON]

If 100% paid £1 per prescription rather than 10% paying £10, would there not be extra involved in deaing with ten times as many financial transactions?

[Ann]

How come only 10% pay for their prescriptions? I certaily paid pounds in total for mine before I retired and breathed a sigh of relief. £10 per item is horrendous.

[mikey4444]

Typo alert !....it should have read you DON'T have !

[ToraToraTora]

no TCL the mechanism would work the same.

[pixie373]

I'm quite surprised it's only 10%. I pay for mine. Am i going wrong somewhere?

[Old_Geezer]

When they say "raise" they mean take even more from those who need medical help and are, as we all are, struggling with frozen salaries and rising costs. As one of the three people, I think the whole idea of paying into a common kitty for medical service, only to find one is charged for what is needed to cure an issue when the time comes, is simply wrong. Worse, it could easily put off folk going to a GP when they really ought to. Prescription charges should be abolished. It should be covered by the general taxes taken to pay for an NHS.

[THECORBYLOON]

TORATORATORA, according to YOUR maths, the NHS in England spends just under £98,000,000,000 on toilet rolls each year or more than their entire annual budget.

[mikey4444]

Og...I am with you all the way here. We seem to have come a long way from 1948. We have to pay for Dentists, Opticians and everything else, and those poor people in England have to pay for their prescriptions as well. On top of all that, when you do have to go to Hospital, you are treated like sh1t...see Mondays Newsnight :::

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mk25

The NHS that we were so proud of seems to to be in complete disarray. Nye Bevan must be revolving in his grave.

[ToraToraTora]

where did I say that TCL? I said the increase in the prescription charges would not pay for the loo roll. Please read more carefully

[ToraToraTora]

possibly lost though, it was not intended as an actual statistic but as hyperbole to illustrate futility, sorry if you missed it TCL.