The great hay fever sting: Thousands pay too much for tablets
HUNDREDS of thousands of hay fever sufferers are paying over the odds to relieve their symptoms.
Those who rely on prescriptions for their medication are seemingly unaware they can pick up equivalent over the counter remedies for 80 per cent less.
Each GP prescription costs sufferers £8.60 when they can pick up the same drugs from chemists and supermarkets for as little as £1.99.
The farce has cost sufferers millions of pounds with experts saying the scandal highlights the “gross waste” in the NHS.
Dr Ian Campbell, a GP for 30 years in Nottingham, said: “Too many patients are unaware they might be overpaying for medicines. Hay fever medications are an obvious example.
“My advice for patients prescribed a medicine is to always ask the pharmacist: ‘Can I buy this cheaper over the counter?’”
NHS data obtained by MoneySavingExpert.com shows patients in England paid for more than 180,000 prescriptions for the three main hay fever remedies in 2016 and 2017.
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These are cetirizine (Piriteze equivalent), loratadine (Clarityn equivalent) and chlorphenamine (Piriton equivalent).
Insiders say it is only worth getting hay fever remedies on prescription if you are entitled to them for free, or need an unusual type of medication.
MoneySavingExpert.com’s Steve Nowottny said: “Don’t assume that just because you’ve been issued with a prescription, that’s necessarily the cheapest way to get the medicine.
“Ideally, pharmacy staff would warn patients but this doesn’t always happen.”
The NHS says patients in England paid for 102,773 hay fever medicines on prescription in 2016 and 83,530 in 2017. Analysis showed all of the drugs could have been bought for less over the counter.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society said some patients pay for prescriptions because they do not know the drug can be bought without one. A spokesman said: “We advise that most people with hay fever who require antihistamines should be buying them from a community pharmacy.”
Earlier this year, NHS England ordered doctors to stop prescribing “phoney” treatments like fish oil and herbal remedies in a bid to recoup £200million a year. It said the vast majority of prescriptions issued were appropriate but many were for products that could be purchased from pharmacies or supermarkets for much less.
The blacklist also includes paracetamol, which is four times more expensive on prescription to buying it on the High Street. While most supermarkets sell 32 tablets for as little as 60p, the same amount can cost around £34 on prescription, once dispensing and GP fees are taken into account.
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: “The NHS is one of the most efficient health services in the world but we’re determined to make taxpayers’ money go further.”
James Price of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “For too long, taxpayers have been paying for sun cream and gluten-free food, items the free market can provide much more cheaply.”