Scottish Government Deliver On Prescription Charges Commitment

Prescription charges in Scotland will be reduced from April 1, 2008, under moves introduced by the Scottish Government.

The changes mean the cost of a single prescription item has been lowered from £6.85 to £5 and the cost of a Prescription Pre-payment Certificate (PPC) is 51% cheaper.

Further annual reductions are planned to remove charges altogether by April 1, 2011.

The move will make a significant saving for people who are likely to need large or regular amounts of prescription items throughout the year.

People may find it cheaper to buy a PPC if they need more than three prescription items in a four-month period, or more than nine prescription items in 12 months.

The cost of a PPC has been lowered from £98.70 to £48 for a 12-month period and from £35.85 to £17 for a four-month period.

It is estimated that nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of all paid-for prescriptions are for cancer and long-term conditions which include asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Psoriasis and heart disease.

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon, said: “This Government is committed to building a healthier nation through removing the barriers to ill health and reducing prescription charges is a significant step towards achieving this.

“In particular, the substantial reduction we have announced to the cost of a PPC will make a huge difference to removing the burden for those people with chronic or long-term conditions or who require regular prescriptions.”

Audrey Birt, Chair of the Long Term Conditions Alliance, said: “The Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland (LTCAS) welcomes the beginning of the end of prescription charges for people with long term conditions, most of whom are on several medications or treatments.

“Paying for vital medication adds to the already significant financial burden of living with a long term condition. This leads many, including those on relatively high incomes, to chose
between the different medicines they need.

“The phased reduction in charges, and in particular the immediate halving in cost of Prescription Pre-payment Certificates, will make a real difference to the lives of Scotland’s two million people who live with long term conditions.”

Mum-of-one Eileen Hogg was diagnosed with breast cancer in Nov’04 and has been on medication ever since.

After courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the 48-year-old was declared technically in remission but still needs regular medication to prevent the cancer returning and to treat side effects from taking the cancer drug such as mouth ulcers and
sickness.

Eileen, a financial adviser from Glasgow, says the reduction in prescription charges will make a huge difference for the thousands of cancer patients paying for prescriptions.

She explained: “When you’re fighting cancer you are having to cope not only with the physical effects, but also with the emotional strain of knowing you have cancer. When you add worries about paying for prescriptions to that, it just makes things worse.

“I was paying on average £40 a month for prescriptions and this was for everything from antibiotics, anti sickness pills, to skin creams, foam dressings and mouthwash. At one point I paid out £40 in just one week for prescriptions, during a particularly bad time on chemo.

“Thankfully I need less medication now than I did then but I’m still paying for my cancer drug as well as anti sickness pills and mouthwash needed to treat the side-effects of this drug.

“Using annual pre-payment certificates makes a big difference and reducing the price of these to £48 will really help people like myself who need several different prescriptions.”

For more information about changes to the cost of prescription charges or a PPC, speak to your Community Pharmacist or visit www.infoscotland.com/prescriptions