Poor asthma patients at risk over high drug prices

MORE than a million asthma sufferers are risking death because they cannot afford rising NHS prescription charges.

The shocking revelation comes after the Tories announced plans to ramp up the price of medication from £8.80 to £9 in England.

Research by Asthma UK shows around 1.3 million sufferers who pay for their inhalers have skipped using them because of the cost.

Of these, 300,000, said it led to an asthma episode. Holly Worboys died in January 2016 aged 19 after an attack. Mum Cathy, 49, from Ware, Hertfordshire, said her daughter was a waitress who could often not afford her drugs.

She added: “As Holly only had one dose of medicine left in her inhaler, even as she struggled to breathe she didn’t want to take it, saying she’d save it for when she really needed it. The horrific irony is that was the moment Holly really did need it.”

Asthma UK’S Dr Samantha Walker urged Health Secretary Matt Hancock to add the condition to the list of exemptions for prescription charges, which allows patients with long-term conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy to have free drugs.

She said: “People should not have to pay to breathe. When people struggle financially they may feel they cannot afford to buy medication. By not taking it, they are at risk of dying.”

The asthma death rate has risen 20% in the last five years. A recent report by the Nuffield Trust found Britain had the highest rate of such deaths of 14 EU countries it studied.

One in four Brits is currently on a waiting list for a medical appointment, a study by health provider Benenden Health and Medical found.

TRAGEDY Holly died at 19