I’d still end prescription fees

DOZENS of you wrote to me querying comments I made on prescription charges in my last column. I said some patients on multiple medications ended up paying through the nose, and many of you pointed out that pre-payment plans were an simple fix for this. It’s true. Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) cost

£30.25 for three months or £108.10 for a year and can offer big savings.

They are available via the NHS Business Authority website, nhsbsa.nhs.uk – where there’s also a list of pharmacies that sell them – or by phone, 0300 330 1341. The problem is, too few people actually get one: a recent study by the Prescription Charges Coalition showed that 20 per cent of people with a long-term condition didn’t know they existed. Some can’t afford lump sums or find they pre-pay and then never use their card as they have a condition that flares up then subsides, so they can’t tell when they’ll need medication. We need an awareness campaign for PCCs, or better still: cut prescription charges altogether.