National Pharmacy Association calls for free prescriptions in England
The National Pharmacy Association is urging England to scrap prescription charges, calling the £9.90 fee a tax on illness, while the Department of Health says most prescriptions are already exempt.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The National Pharmacy Association has called for prescription charges to be scrapped in England, arguing that the current system amounts to a tax on illness. The body says patients should not have to pay for medicines that keep them well, and it wants the government to act in next week's Budget to ease cost-of-living pressures.
Prescription medicines are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England, the charge is currently £9.90 unless the patient is exempt. The Department of Health says nine out of ten prescriptions are already exempt, and it points out that charges have been frozen for the past two years. Money raised from prescriptions is put back into the NHS to support frontline services, it says.
The NPA does not dispute the exemption rate but says millions of people with long-term conditions still face significant costs. It cites patients with asthma, Crohn's disease and Parkinson's disease who take multiple medicines and can pay hundreds of pounds a year. Olivia from the NPA said the charge was 'basically a tax on being ill' and that pharmacists were being asked to act as tax collectors. She said the system was complicated to administer and unfair to patients.
In a pharmacy in Twyford, Berkshire, Natalie, who has Crohn's disease, said paying for her medicine was unfair. She takes a daily immunosuppressant to keep her condition in remission and said that without it her body could have a severe flare, leading to hospital treatment or another operation.
The NPA wants prescription charges abolished in England. The Department of Health response sets out the existing exemption arrangements and the funding link to NHS services, while the NPA argues that the remaining charges still hit people who need regular medicines.
What the two sides say - National Pharmacy Association: prescription charges are a tax on illness, unfair to patients and complicated for pharmacists, and should be scrapped. - Department of Health: nine out of ten prescriptions are exempt, charges have been frozen for two years, and the money raised goes back into the NHS.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Prescription charges in England currently stand at £9.90. | |
| The Department of Health said nine out of ten prescriptions are already exempt from charges. | |
| The National Pharmacy Association called for prescriptions to be free in England. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 led on the human cost of prescription charges, using a Crohn's disease patient and a pharmacist to argue the fee is unfair. It also put the Department of Health's exemption figure to the NPA and included the government's response that charges are frozen and revenue goes to the NHS. The item tied the call to next week's Budget and cost-of-living pressure.
- “It's basically a tax on being ill”
- “I'm not a tax collector”
- “They're currently nine pounds 90 in England at the moment”
Broadcast Timeline
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