Change the Charges
Change the Charges
Scheme to axe prescription charges to be unveiled
NICOLA Sturgeon, the health secretary, will today outline details of plans to abolish prescription charges north of the Border.
Why should people pay for the drugs that keep them alive?
WALES abolished prescription charges on 1 April, and the Scottish Executive recently revealed the findings of its 2006 consultation on charges. Meanwhile the Department of Health has promised to review charges in England.
More top stories
Scottish prescription charges rise by 20p - on same day the Welsh abolish them
PRESCRIPTION charges in Scotland rose by 20p to £6.85 per item yesterday, the same day the Welsh Assembly scrapped the charges altogether.
NHS medicines 'cost millions too much'
THE NHS is paying drugs companies hundreds of millions of pounds too much for some branded medicines, a report warned yesterday.
Cancer patients told life-prolonging treatment is too expensive for NHS
Key quote: "The NHS is saying to [patients], 'Tough luck, there's nothing we can give you'. But that is not the case. If you lived in North America you would get these drugs, but not in Scotland." - Dr Paul Nathan, consultant oncologist
Public 'should pay for non-vital surgery'
PATIENTS should be made to pay for operations such as varicose vein surgery and tonsil removal so more people can get free prescriptions, doctors said yesterday.
Winners and losers in the drugs lottery
THE rationing of expensive drugs on the NHS was brought into sharp focus yesterday when a young girl won her battle for treatment, while hundreds of other patients lost out.
Free medicines for chronic patients urged
PRESCRIPTION charges should be scrapped for sufferers of chronic illness, an expert report financed by the Scottish Executive concluded yesterday.
Prescription charges must be scrapped, 2,500 readers tell Executive
ALMOST 2,500 readers of The Scotsman have backed our campaign to scrap prescription charges for people with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.
Wife forced to pay to ease husband's agony
A WIDOW told yesterday how she had to buy morphine to ease her husband's agony in the final months of his life because the Scottish Executive denies cancer sufferers free prescriptions.
Radical answers needed for MS sufferers' prescription muddle
THERE are many mysteries surrounding multiple sclerosis. Both cause and cure remain elusive, as does the reason this disease is so much more common in Scotland than elsewhere. These riddles are the subject of increasingly penetrating scientific research. However, as well as being difficult to fathom scientifically, MS is often misunderstood by the public, due to its highly variable nature.
Couple left to count cost of prescription fees 'discrimination'
A couple told yesterday of their struggle to "scrimp and save" to afford the medication denied them by the Scottish Executive's "out-of-touch" prescription charging policy.
Charities urge long-term view on NHS drugs
MEDICAL charities issued a plea to drug regulation agencies in Scotland to consider the long-term savings to the NHS and the economy before deciding which medicines were too expensive to recommend for use.
Patients play Russian roulette with health to pay for medicines
PATIENTS with chronic illnesses must play "Russian roulette" with their health as financial pressures force them to gamble on which prescribed drugs to pay for and which to reject.
Executive urged to heed free prescriptions campaign
MARGO MacDonald has told ministers they can no longer ignore the case for scrapping prescription charges for people with chronic conditions following the examples unearthed by The Scotsman campaign.
MacDonald demands an end to charges
MARGO MacDonald will join The Scotsman campaign today by demanding an end to prescription charges for those with chronic or life-threatening diseases.
Cystic fibrosis sufferers pay cost for longer life
SUFFERERS of cystic fibrosis are having to pay for their prescriptions because they are living longer.
Hundreds back fight to scrap fees for prescriptions
READERS of The Scotsman have responded magnificently to our campaign to end prescription charges for people with chronic or life-threatening diseases.
A bitter pill for those who have no choice
SCOTS who are suffering from mental illness are forced to pay for their regular medication even though they are compelled by law to take it.
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Weather for Edinburgh
Friday 25 May 2012
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