ANGER AS NHS PRESCRIPTIONS SHOOT UP TO £9
THE cost of a prescription in England is set to rise by 20p to £9 from this April.
It means charges for NHS medication have gone up by 26% since the Tories came to power in 2010.
Angry campaigners pointed out average earnings have only gone up by 16% during the same period.
Lloyd Tingley, chairman of the Prescription Charges Coalition, said: “Working-age people with long-term conditions simply can’t sustain this.
“Already, one in three people with long-term conditions do not collect all their essential medication due to cost, which leads to more ill-health.”
The cost of prescription prepayment certificates will stay the same.
Tony O’Sullivan, chairman of Keep Our NHS Public, said: “We should only be paying once for our NHS from taxation – double charging people in need of treatment is regrettable.”
Shadow Health Secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, added: “Our hospitals are racking up huge deficits, buildings are crumbling and now patients are paying the price for Tory financial mismanagement of the NHS.”
Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, head of the Royal College of GPs, described the charges as a “blunt tool”. The Department of Health, headed by Matt Hancock, insisted: “Nine out of 10 prescriptions dispensed on the NHS in England are free. Existing exemptions will still protect the most vulnerable.” There are no prescription charges for the rest of the UK.
SIX in 10 children aged one to four did not see an NHS dentist last year, figures reveal.
Analysis of NHS Digital data also found four in 10 children of all ages in England – about five million – did not have dental checks in 2018. Tooth decay is the main reason for child hospital admission.
Guidance says children should be registered when their first teeth appear, get a first check-up by one and then visit every year.
The Royal College of Surgeons research came as other data suggested half of all NHS surgeries are now closed to new patients amid a funding crisis.
The British Dental Association’s Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen said: “Any government that claims to value prevention should not be letting five million children miss out on free check-ups.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to dental services.”