Labour is set to announce a pledge to abolish prescription charges in England at its party conference next week. The move would bring England in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where prescriptions are already free.
Currently, patients in England pay £9 per item, generating over £575m for the NHS in 2017/18. The government has described this income as valuable, but Labour argues the cost deters people from taking essential medication.
More than 80% of prescriptions in England are already issued free of charge. Exemptions include those on low incomes, people receiving benefits such as Income Support, pregnant women, children, and the over-60s. A list of 'medical exemptions' drawn up in 1968 covers conditions including insulin-dependent diabetes and underactive thyroid, but excludes others such as asthma, chronic kidney disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: 'We know that the cost of prescriptions puts people off taking the medicine they need. Not only do people suffer illnesses and the effects of illnesses more than they need to but, in the long term, it costs the NHS more money.' His comments were welcomed by Kay Boycott, chief executive of Asthma UK, who cited the case of Holly Warboys, a 19-year-old who died after an asthma attack. Holly's mother said her daughter struggled to afford her prescription charges and had 'just one puff left in her inhaler' when she died.
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the college had 'always been supportive of any safe and sensible measures to reduce medication costs for patients'. She added that the existence of fees in England 'means there is real risk that some people might not obtain and take the medication they need'.
