Paracetamol prescriptions

Doctors prescribe paracetamol because they need to know the patient is taking it

I wonder about the whole idea of automatically free prescriptions for over 60s. We are both working and no longer support our children. Hence we are better off than we have ever been. I'm sure the government could used tax data or some such to withhold free prescriptions until people do retire or have a low income.

Just because GPs prescribe something doesn't mean the patient is definitely going to take it, blubber.

I have to take paracetamol daily. I am not able to shop enough time a week to buy enough paracetamol to last me a week if I can only buy 32 at a time! Some weeks i can't get out at all.
I'll stick with my prescription thanks.

I get my Paracetamol on prescription as I can get them from the Chemist , but going in every second day was getting a bit wearing . I do try to not take them four times a day to spin them out , but then I stiffen up . At 79 yrs I think I am getting a bit spoiled !

My MiL used to get hers on prescription. If she thought she was running low I would offer to get some while I was shopping - "No don't do that I can get them from the doctor for nothing!" was always the answer. When she died I found boxes and boxes stuffed away in her kitchen. We didn't have to buy any for a couple of years.

Jane; people can be on 15 different tablets a day and, if you go onto something new the dose could be changed every week or so. Very few people could afford to pay that much [although they could have a PPC of course]. I always had to pay for my prescriptions till I was 60 even though I saw plenty of people who seemed to be much better off than me not having to pay. Knowing my luck I'd be just above the cut off point for free prescriptions yet again.

Jane if there's question about why 'well off pensioners' should get free prescriptions, then why should well off parents' get free prescriptions for their children, why should 'well off' people with diabetes, epilepsy etc get free prescriptions? Why should anybody 'well off' get free health carei? It's a very dangerous argument.

If, like me, you suffer from Arthritis, your doctor may suggest that you take paracetamol and as others here have pointed out you cannot buy large quantities of this drug over the counter. I should think that if paracetamol is that inexpensive then I'm sure the NHS can more than cover the cost. What they need to do is stop people using A&E as a GP and get on a real GP's list, thus leaving A&E for the people who really need it for accidents and emergencies which is what A&E stands for.

Rigby46, I could not agree more, well said.

My mum gets loads of paracetamol on prescription and then hands them out to friends and family. I have told her this is costing the NHS tons of money but she says she has contributed all her life and is entitled. It does make me cross as she can easily afford to buy them if necessary. I do feel that doctors should just say take paracetamol if necessary and not prescribe them.

I'm sure she's not the only one who feels 'entitled' Cambia

My GP certainly says just to take paracetamol.

On a slightly different note, I have been a regular blood donor for nearly 50 years. We used to get a cuppa and a biscuit afterwards, fair enough, but now there are all sorts on offer - crisps , cereal bars , club biscuits, sometimes even sandwiches! Who pays for This? It's totally unnecessary, crisps have no nutritional value, surely a cuppa and a couple of biscuits is enough. They also give us an appointment card for next time, another waste of money. Most people have a diary/phone . Sorry to go a bit off topic but like the OP I get frustrated with the waste of money in the NHS

No, that's not necessary Mauri - when I donated it was a cup of tea and a biscuit (or two). The kind of people who give blood don't need bribing.

What a waste.

Isn't the blood transfusion service privatised? And owned by an American company? So in fact we're all paying over the odds for a service that used to be run efficiently and now they're using our money to offer a range of snacks and still make a profit for their shareholders. Something very wrong here but it's not the NHS.

Oops made a mistake here. It was the plasma service that was privatised not the transfusion service. I can't help thinking that the gradual fragmentation of the NHS is not helping with bits being sold off to private buyers. And although I hate waste I do wonder if things like paracetamol prescriptions and crisps for blood donors are nothing compared to what goes on at the top of the organisation. I wonder if we're like the frugal housekeeper trying to save pennies on the groceries while the family gamble their fortune away upstairs.

Why should 'well off' pensioners get free prescriptions?
Why shouldn't they?
The majority of 'well off' pensioners are probably that way due to having worked all their lives, and in so doing, paid towards the NHS!
I'm not sixty yet, but pay every year for an annual prescription prepayment certificate, £104-00. However, I have four prescribed medications (none of which are available 'over the counter') per month, which at today's rate would cost me £447-20 per year if I paid for each item individually! As far as monthly prescriptions are concerned, they're for 28 days, therefore thirteen are needed every year!
After my sixtieth birthday later this year I will get free prescriptions, but am still going to be waiting an extra six years for my pension, thereby being 'robbed' of about £42,000!
Getting free prescriptions is a poor substitute for my pension!
I do hope none of those among us who object to 'well off' pensioners getting free prescriptions aren't women who collected their pension at sixty, that would be just too much 'brass necked cheek'!

LewLew I had the Naproxen but it made me feel really sick so I stopped taking it .I have the 300/50 Paracetamol and codeine and I take two before bed as it makes a difference and I get some sleep.The doctor I saw before said it was fine to take them as long as I needed them but this new (very young) Doctor seems to think differently.I just wish they could all get on the same page.I do understand that some people can get addicted to painkillers but if I need some pain relief I cant see why she should block me getting them

AIBU to wonder why people say things are FREE on the NHS?

They are NOT free. Taxes paid in some form or another fund the NHS. Doh?

maddy, my GP suggested taking 8 paracetamol a day for knee pain - as you can only buy 32 at a time then that means a trip to the chemist every four days or do the (limited) rounds of the supermarkets, chemists etc which is not so easy if you're in pain! Anyone determined to take an overdose could do that themselves anyway, so it does seem rather a silly rule.

However, the only thing that does work is Naproxen, fortunately they don't make me feel sick but the GP will not prescribe them routinely.

I don't take the paracetamol regularly either.

Jalima1108 Wed 05-Jul-17 11:03:37

You can buy naproxen over the counter. My stepson was always forgetting to get his prescription refilled and used to send his girlfriend in for it. I haven't bought it myself, but assume it's still sold.

www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/aches-and-pains/a8676/feminax-ultra-naproxen/

I never knew that Lewlew, thank you. I didn't know it was Feminax either!

Unfortunately, I have had lectures on the consequences of taking Naproxen from two GPs now so I am wary, although I do take one occasionally if I know I will be out all day and probably walking a lot.

The things you learn on GN

I was really surprised about the paracetamol cost, but I did a quick google and the story is a bit of journalist hype.
The NHS doesn't buy any drugs. They will pay the pharmacist a set price for each drug dispensed on a prescription. The price the NHS pays is set as part of the National drug tariff and is available online. For 32 paracetamol tablets, this is 68p. Not as cheap as Aldi, but pharmacies have to make money and they provide a pretty decent service.
The trouble is journalists know how to present statistics in a way that is quite sensational and rather misleading.