A new prescription?

THE profusion of medicines available to treat all manner of illnesses and ailments is a wonder of modern science.

These pills and potions, developed by brilliant minds, have saved millions of lives and treated or prevented countless conditions. There is, though, a severe downside. Britain is in danger of turning into a nation of prescription-drug junkies.

Growing numbers take a cocktail of medications each day. This risks potentially fatal reactions and catastrophic addiction.

So NHS medical chief Sir Stephen Powis is right to order GPs to stop overprescribing, as if there is a ‘pill for every ill’.

Not only can handing out drugs like sweets be bad for patients, it is also an egregious waste of money that could be spent on, for instance, tackling NHS waiting lists.

Surely if doctors assessed more people face to face, they’d more easily identify other ways of dealing with a patient’s health issues, such as exercise or therapy.

Of course, GPs are not wholly to blame. As their numbers slump, those left end up with ever- increasing caseloads – and significantly less time for each patient.

It’s hardly surprising some reach for the easy route out via the prescription pad.

But it must stop. Patients deserve better than being fobbed off with pills that are not magic bullets, but potentially life ruining.