Free prescription or not?

clementine, the hospital will give you a supply of medication to take home with you if you've been an in-patient.

The OP was talking about being issued a prescription after visiting A&E and it also applies to out-patients who are given prescriptions.

I admit to never having heard of this either, having to pay to have a prescription filled from a hospital. Normally the hospital will give you a day's supply of medication to give the patient time to take the medicine request sheet to their GP who then issues a normal script. I agree though, you would be happy to pay whatever it takes if it helps the pain !!

Rigby, no i don't think pensioners should pay regardless of income/savings, they have spent years paying NI contributions. The only way to have a "free at point of contact" prescription service is to increase the NI contibutions.It makes no sense that i who can afford 20p to buy paracetamol should be given a prescription for them, maybe you are right and we should review the drugs available on prescription and get rid of paracetamol, asprin and any other inexpensive over the counter medicines.

Oh I misunderstood grannypiper. I didn't realise they were free accross the board in Scotland, sorry

Yes I agree Ana - I just think there's a real illogicality in arguments about whether prescriptions should be free or not outside of hospital if the discussion doesn't consider whether health care in general shouldn't be means tested. I've got a very simple ( some might say simplistic) view on this. I can't see why we charge for prescriptions at all - the exemptions for specific conditions have not been reviewed for I don't know how long and are wildly out of date as are the exemptions for specific categories such as age, pregnancy etc. What is the logic in saying as grannypiper did that prescriptions should be paid for when we don't pay for other medical care - and before the pedants swoop, I mean of course don't pay at the point of use and I'm not including dental and optical although there is a whole debate to be had there as well

Oh I see - yes, sorry!

But I still think that chemo drugs etc. are free for everyone and that wouldn't change if the policy on 'free prescriptions' was changed in Scotland, Wales and NI.

But Ana grannypiper widened the discussion to free prescriptions in general and so the thread moved on - as often happens

Have you read the OP Deedaa? Nothing to do with GP prescriptions or drugs given to patients in hospital (and to take home).

DH's chemotherapy drugs cost literally thousands of pounds a month, should he be paying for them too? Plus there are the dozen assorted drugs on his prescription from the GP.

If you're an inpatient the hospital will give you enough medication for a week or so on your discharge.

Aneey and others were talking about prescriptions given at A&E or outpatient appointments when you can't always get it filled by the hospital pharmacy at the time.

Coolgran65 it is a case of who pays for the drugs; in some cases the hospitals fund them, in others it is the GP surgery and others are funded by NICE or the CDF etc.
If it is not a drug which is specific to the ailment for which you see the Consultant they will usually ask you to go to your GP for a prescription, if it is something the hospital consultant is treating you for they will provide the prescription.
That is how my consultant explained it.

It is all funded by the NHS in the end, but they all have their own budgets which they have to adhere to.

Yes I know that Jalima - I was trying to get grannypiper to address the illogicality of her post.

They are pacifiers because our pensions are not as good as some in the rest of Europe - or, in fact, in much of the developed world.

So why should well off pensioners have free health care at all then? Or WFA or bus passes or TV licences?

I have never been given a prescription from the hospital. Usually they provide enough medication to cover a couple of days and a letter for the GP who writes the requisite prescription.

Paddyann who said i was anti SNP?

PaddyannWhile i do understand that some people cant afford it there are plenty who can, why should any couple on £30,000 P/A have free prescriptions ? it is utter madness

Thanks grannypiper - I am fine, but keen to get the gastroscopy done to try and find out what happened - then I can stop worrying that it might happen again! I like to know my enemy!

grannypiper its cheaper giving everyone free prescriptions than the admin for measntesting would be .Apart from that I know a couple who between them have around 12 prescription meds a day ,they have heart issues,they aren't on a great income and the cost of all those drugs would be a big chunk out of their wage,should they then have to decide whether to get their medication or pay their mortgage every month...they dont get benefits of any kind because they both work and their income is just above the limit.I'd far rather live in a country that looks after the people who need it ,I'm sure you have your reasons for being anti.....SNP BAD perhaps ?
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Hope it wasnt aimed at the over 60's. I dont agree with everyone in Scotland having free prescriptions, the country can not afford it.

Annoyed that prescriptions are free in Scotland, grannypiper?

Why do you find it a disgrace that prescriptions are free for those over 60? Grannypiper. Isn't that why we paid our national Insurance stamps for years down the line? The amount of tablets my DH has to take I am very pleased that they are free, and as we have both worked very hard all our lives( I am still working now in fact even though I am officially retired, I feel no guilt about it.I am just thankfull.

GrandmaM my consultant has two separate pads of prescription forms - ones for using in the hospital pharmacy and one for using at an outside chemist.
What your consultant does sounds unnecessarily complicated

grannypiper

I had a prescription from an outpatient clinic. The consultant did not complete the form to allow me to get it from the hospital pharmacy but did a form to give to the GP. This meant going to the surgery after going to the hospital, spending time explaining to the receptionist, then waiting 3 days for the GP to write up a green prescription, then taking it to the local pharmacy. This seems so complicated and must be expensive, having to get the GP and her staff to do work as well as the Consultant.