The Prime Minister has told the Labour Party’s Annual Conference that cancer patients will not have to pay prescription charges from next year.
Hi Margaret,
That’s brilliant news isn’t it? My partner is listening to Radio 4 in the kitchen and just came in to tell me. Can’t understand why it hasn’t aways been the case though.
Julie
About bloody time! My GP always says that she cant understand how cancer patients pay for drugs whilst asthma patients get them free!! Surely they are both “chronic” conditions??
As usual though we have to wait for next year. Why is is that any increases come in overnight but anything to your advantage is months away!?
Love to all
Alise x
Hi Alise - I don’t know where your doc gets her info, but I’ve had asthma all my adult life and my prescriptions certainly aren’t free! Basically I don’t think any sick person should have to pay for drugs.
You are right though - next year is probably going to be too late for some of us. It’s very unfair.
J
I shall be 60 in January 2020, so won’t benefit for very long, but I am pleased for the younger women among us.
On a different note, not all chronic disease sufferers get free prescriptions…diabetics do, but my son who is 28 and developed Crohn’s disease when he was 25 has to pay for all his prescriptions, and as he takes about a dozen drugs a day I think it’s terrible that he has to pay for prescriptions for what is a lifetime disease.
xxx
Does anyone get more than a months prescription at a time? My doctor wont give me more than one month, although he was quite happy to give me 3 months HRT at a time.
I got 2 months tamoxifen from my GP.I was quite surprised,
Dot
x
I get 2 months Omeprazole but am over 60 so dont pay.Vx
I’m 60 in March so won’t be of much use to me (mind you tamoxifen not of much use to me…!) But good news in general. Mind you I think Gordon Brown may need something a big bigger to save his future.
Jane
my daughter gives me six months supply of tamoxifen
doctor ha ha i am really losing it
I am on levothyroxine for hypothyroidism and get all my prescriptions free. i think if your body is lacking in a hormone that prevents it from working naturally then i believe you get free prescriptions. i could be wrong when i say this but think this is how it works.
I used to get three months supply of tamoxifen in one prescription, it’s very cheap nowadays anyway about £30 a year for generics if I remember
Mole
Don’t forget the prescription season ticket scheme in the meantime, my OH does this and saves about half his prescription costs, we pay about £10 a month by Direct Debit for his season ticket
I also get three months supply of tamox. My doctor was only going to give me one month but I asked her for more.
Hi,
I get 2 months supply of Arimidex on each prescription. Initially it was just one month but I asked for 2 last year at xmas because it made life easier and it has remained that way ever since.
Sheana x
I get 3 months’ supply of Tamox at one go but have a pre-payment cert anyway for all the other tabs I take to keep me going. Good news though about the free prescriptions - pity it can’t be introduced next week, not next year.
HOORAY ABOUT BLOODY TIME. Why do we english (sorry no disrespect to welsh/scottish) have to be last to get anything.
When I was prescribed letrozole last year I asked GP for 3 months supply, to which she replied no can do its down to funds. She could only give me 2 months at a time. I was then paying for scripts, and a yearly pass would not work out any cheaper.
Since being dx diabetic I now get free scripts, but does not alter the fact that life prolonging drugs are still not being given out because of cost to the individual surgeries funds.
And because my scripts are now funded, i presume by government/nhs money pot, I can now get 3 months supply. VERY STRANGE COUNTRY WE LIVE IN.
I did consider once moving over the border to Scotland to get free help.
Yes at last. I know it’s all motivated by political maneouvring, but well done Gordon!
Jx
Well I am not going to say no but its £100 for a pre pay for a year isn’t it?
most people lost more than twice that when the 10 p rate was abolished, I just met a lady today who could not get a wig on the NHS and paid £112 for a very nice one, to the left of me was a lady who could not get faslodex prescribed for on the NHS, and 2 seats down was a lady whose bowel cancer was misdiagnosed for ten months…I would rather the government sorted out the big picture.
But in the meantime, at least this.