NHS Wales Prescriptions
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Posts
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“In Wales there were 74 million prescriptions in 2013.”
That works out at over 18 per year for every individual that lives in Wales ! Are we a sickly nation or are people popping over the border for a free prescription? Either way surely we must stop writing prescriptions for drugs that can be bought very cheaply over the counter like paracetamol.
I don’t think the story is the total number of prescriptions, although it does seem bizarrely high. With Statins etc more and more people are are on medication for life, so that will account for a portion. The real story is that here in cash strapped Wales we get the medication for free….Crazy.
We don’t actually get it for free, if like most people you have worked all your life the majority of people will have paid in far more than they will ever get out…
I do agree that there is probably, no not probably certainly a lot of waste, and if people paid they would think twice…In the news today, 50% of women and 43% of men nationally, are on long term medication. That goes some way to explaining why the figure for prescriptions is high.
As far as English people coming over the border to have a prescription filled, that is unlikely as prescriptions issued in Wales have a small dragon printed on them, England obviously doesn’t.
On several occasions, I have presented a script issued in Birmingham and although I live in Wrexham, have been obliged to pay.@MP1953 17001 wrote:
We don’t actually get it for free, if like most people you have worked all your life the majority of people will have paid in far more than they will ever get out…
I do agree that there is probably, no not probably certainly a lot of waste, and if people paid they would think twice…That is taking a rather simplistic view of the situation.
If your logic is correct (which I very much doubt), it could equally be argued that people in England are paying twice.
What I do agree with however, is that a charge should be levied for prescriptions in Wales for those who have the ability to pay and the potential savings reinvested in the Health Service to lessen waiting times and provide enhanced Primary Care in the form of additional GP’s.
@BenjaminM 17004 wrote:
That is taking a rather simplistic view of the situation.
If your logic is correct (which I very much doubt), it could equally be argued that people in England are paying twice.
What I do agree with however, is that a charge should be levied for prescriptions in Wales for those who have the ability to pay and the potential savings reinvested in the Health Service to lessen waiting times and provide enhanced Primary Care in the form of additional GP’s.
I and most of us who have worked all our lives paid national insurance and tax all our lives I have just had a quick reckie and it’s tens of thousands of pounds and yes maybe I have been lucky but the cost on prescriptions that I have had over the years would be in the couple of hundreds at most….
Whilst I agree on the waste issue I am not going to be brainwashed or feel guilty about free prescriptions, especially where the money saved would only go to the deficit etc. that was not caused by ordinary people in the first place….
Oh and people in England are paying twice ! as with a lot of things,!!
I know it’s an old saying but the working man is being conned and always has been :(
Free Prescriptions are relatively new. From the early 1950’s charges were introduced to cover funding shortfalls, so paying isn’t a radical change.
I’m very pleased that you’ve worked hard and paid your taxes, well done, so have I. The fact is the NHS needs cash, if our children and grandchildren are going to have a decent healthcare system, we need to be imaginative in raising revenue for them! “Free Scripts for All” is a luxury the Welsh NHS can ill-afford.
The point is that there is plenty of money, its just a matter of choice as to where and how it is spent for just one example… as I said conned….:)
According to provisional figures released this week, the UK spent £11.4bn on aid in 2013 – or about £180 per person – a 30.5% jump from 2012 (£8.8bn)
Thunderbirdskid is right. The Health Service is most definitely under pressure and it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that it continues strongly for the sake of future generations. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are egocentric and think that everything revolves around them and go hang to everyone else.
It has been stated earlier on on this thread that an individual has contributed more than he has taken out, so sod the rest. I no longer use the educational system, social services or indeed libraries but I am still expected to contribute to maintaining the system, which, I might add, do quite willingly.
Perhaps, at some stage in the future your health circumstances might change and you would be glad to avail yourself of those services….. providing the health service still exists of course.
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