The cost-of-living crisis impacts access to prescription medicines says RPS

Tue,14 February 2023
News Health & Social Care Money
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) recently asked all of its community pharmacist members in England to complete a survey on prescription charges and their affects in the current cost of living crisis

This week saw the results of the survey published and the main findings show that pharmacists all agree that the cost of living is having an impact on people being able to afford their prescription medicines.

Pharmacists across the UK have said that they have seen a big increase in the last six months of patients asking them which medicines they can “do without” due to the cost of them, while many said that people are simply not collecting their prescriptions. `

The RPS has cited that prescription charges for those with long-term health conditions and financially vulnerable people should be removed as they “create a financial barrier to patients receiving the medicines needed to keep them well.” The current charge for a prescription is £9.35 in the UK, while in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland prescriptions are free.

This latest concern over the cost of medication follows on from reports last year that more than a million people in the UK were  experiencing life-threatening asthma attacks, after cutting back on medicine, heating and food, amid the soaring cost of living crisis, a survey by Asthma and Lung found.

There were also warnings from other health charities about the impact of the cost of living crisis. A survey by the MS Society found that one in five people with multiple sclerosis did not have enough money to start the medication or treatments they needed with a third reducing or stopping treatments or therapies, greatly putting their health at risk. Macmillan Cancer Support found that around 2 million people with cancer were concerned about the cost of their bills.

Chair of the RPS Ms Thorrun Govind said: “We are deeply concerned that people are having to make choices about their health based on their ability to pay. No one should have to make choices about rationing their medicines and no one should be faced with a financial barrier to getting the medicines they need.

“Prescription charges are an unfair tax on health which disadvantages working people on lower incomes who are already struggling with food and energy bills.”

Dan White policy and campaigns officer and one of the leads at the Disability Poverty Campaign Group said: “First it was food, then energy, now medication. The list of things that Disabled and financially vulnerable people cannot afford goes on and on and Government doesn’t seem prepared to step up and make the big decisions that could prevent a health catastrophe. Simply put medication improves quality of life, relieves pain, gives anyone at risk because of their condition an ability to function and this is now another thing being stripped away.”

“Prescription charges must be abolished; any civilised society wouldn’t think otherwise after seeing this report. It’s no good just freezing the cost, ethically and morally, they have to go before the repercussions are felt by individuals and an already teetering NHS.”

Tips for saving money on medicines can be found on the Money Saving Expert website.