Prescription price to fall again as SNP bids to scrap charge

Published on Saturday 7 February 2009 18:33

PRESCRIPTIONS are set to become cheaper from April as the SNP Government paves the way towards fulfilling its manifesto promise of scrapping the charges altogether.

The second phase of price reductions, which will see a single prescription reduced from 5 to 4, is expected to be agreed by the Scottish Parliament ahead of its proposed implementation on April 1.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon hailed the move as a step towards the SNP promise that the NHS will be "available free at the point of use".

However, opposition MSPs warned that the NHS must still receive enough funds to continue services, especially during the recession.

The reduction follows a move last year to bring down the price of a prescription from 6.85 to 5. The SNP has laid out a programme of gradual price reductions until prescriptions are free in 2011.

Sturgeon said: "These changes will particularly help those with long-term conditions to manage their health and ensure that cost is not a barrier to them obtaining and taking their medication."

The prescription charge in England is 7.10. In Wales, where the Assembly controls the level of the charge, the payment was scrapped in 2007.

Under the latest plans in Scotland, pre-payment certificates for prescriptions, which cover all medication for a period of four months or 12 months, will be reduced from 17 to 13 and 48 to 38 respectively. Figures show the numbers of people using pre-paid prescriptions doubled last year after the SNP reduced their price by 51%.

Labour politicians warned that the NHS must not be left out of pocket by the price reductions.

A spokesman for Scottish Labour said: "This must be considered in the wider context of health funding. It is vital that health boards get the funding for all the work that they do. Health boards need resources, and the responsibility is to get it to the frontline, not be in a position where health boards are facing year-on-year cuts."

Conservative MSP Mary Scanlon said she could not comment on behalf of the whole party, but added that she cautiously welcomed the reduction in prescription charges. She said: "These are difficult times for Government spending, and in such times it would make sense for those who can pay do pay for their prescriptions.

"But there is no doubt that for those on the margins and on low pay, many have struggled to pick up a whole prescription when it comes in two or three parts, which is certainly not beneficial to recovery. However, we very much welcome the increase in pre-payment certificates for prescriptions, in order to reduce the bureaucracy."