NHS RATIONS PRESCRIPTIONS

Patients will have to pay for thousands of drugs over the counter

PATIENTS are to be denied cough medicines, migraine pills and heartburn remedies under sweeping NHS rationing plans.

GPs will be told to stop routinely funding thousands of treatments for almost 40 conditions when they can be bought cheaply over the counter instead.

Breakthrough medicines for heart disease and arthritis may also be restricted in future – even if they have been approved by the rationing body Nice. NHS bosses yesterday insisted they could no longer afford to pay for routine prescriptions and major new drugs on current budgets.

Although the health service was allocated an extra £2.8billion by the Chancellor last week, it was only a third of what bosses asked for. As a result, executives yesterday announced a series of drastic money-saving measures to save hundreds of millions of pounds. In the first instance, GPs will be told to ‘restrict’ the funding of medications from a list of 36 common conditions.

These include items which can be bought cheaply at supermarkets or chemists, such as treatments for coughs and colds, paracetamol and indigestion pills – as well as remedies for dandruff, cold sores and athlete’s

foot. Officials also outlined a string of other rationing initiatives that could mean longer waiting times.

However, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt last night appeared to contradict the approach as he insisted the NHS had been given a ‘significant’ increase in funding. He also urged hospitals to concentrate on saving money by taking steps to prevent patient neglect.

Among the announcements yesterday, health bosses also warned of:

Patients being refused new drugs for heart conditions, diabetes and blindness if their local NHS board decides they are too expensive.

Widespread rationing for cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements and IVF.

Longer waiting times for A&E, cancer treatment, routine operations and scans.

The NHS is under severe pressure from the ageing population, migration and the growing toll of lifestyle-related conditions such as obesity and diabetes.

Although health funding has been increased by the Government year- onyear, experts say it has not kept pace with demand. Ahead of last week’s Budget,

‘Complex consequences’

leading health-think tanks – backed by NHS England, which runs the health service – had asked for an extra £8billion for the health service over two years.

Chancellor Philip Hammond allocated £2.8billion last week while stressing that hospitals would need to cut waiting times in A&E and for routine operations.

Officials from NHS England began drafting plans to ration certain prescription medicines and other surgical procedures. But yesterday they said the Government’s refusal to pump in the cash they needed meant many more treatments may be cut. NHS England has drawn up a list of 36 types of treatments which GPs should no longer prescribe.

The restrictions would affect around 3,200 medicines and remedies.

They include cough mixture, migraine pills, anti- dandruff shampoos and paracetamol, which can be bought in supermarkets, chemists and petrol stations. Nappy rash cream, head lice treatment, ibuprofen and medication for athlete’s food are also on the list.

Officials said rationing would save £190million a year while freeing up millions of GP appointments that would have been spent writing out prescriptions. A consultation on the plans begins this month with a final list of ‘restricted’ medicines expected by next year.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said he was ‘determined to make taxpayers’ money go further’. He added: ‘The NHS should not be paying for low-value treatments and it’s right that we look at reducing prescriptions for medicines that patients can buy for a fraction of the price the NHS pays.’

But Rachel Power, of the Patients Association, said many would lose out as a result of political decisions about the funding of health care. She warned of the ‘complex consequences’ of the NHS’s drive to cut spending, including the relationship between GPs and their patients.’ Don Redding of National Voices – a coalition of 160 health and social charities – said: ‘If taken forward, these plans could mean that some treatments are only available to those who can afford them. This would risk adversely affecting those people who currently get free prescriptions, which includes some of the most vulnerable in our society and those who are just about managing.’ NHS England also announced that 11 less commonly-used treatments such as herbal supplements and homeopathy remedies would be restricted immediately.

Others include muscle-rubs, medicines for joint pain and strong painkillers which are either expensive or considered ineffective. Yet last night, the Health Secretary appeared to contradict NHS England’s warnings by claiming they had been given a ‘ significant’ increase to their budget.

He also said waiting times would get shorter – not longer – and urged hospitals to save money by taking simple measures to prevent neglect.

He told a conference in London: ‘The working assumption is that quality care is about the most expensive care. If someone has a fall that could have been avoided, they stay in hospital, maybe they then get a pressure ulcer and continue to take up a bed for one week, two weeks, three weeks, which is expensive.’