NHS’s £70m painkiller bill

THE NHS spent more than £70million on paracetamol for patients in England last year despite the painkiller costing just 19p in shops.

Labour MP Grahame Morris was told GPs issued more than 21,740,000 such prescriptions at a cost to the NHS of £3.23 per item.

He said: “It seems irrational to provide [it] on prescription if the cost is higher than it would be for a GP to simply supply such items directly to patients.

“There will be a number of drugs which could be supplied in such a manner.”