Northern Ireland gets free prescriptions

1st April 2010 - There’s some good news if you’re unwell in Northern Ireland from today - at least your prescription is free.

The Northern Ireland Executive first announced the move in 2008, and last year the cost was reduced to £3 per item.

Prescriptions are already free in Wales and are being phased out in Scotland.

In England, people with some chronic conditions, such as diabetes, get free prescriptions. The latest group to be added to that list was cancer patients.

For everyone else in England, each prescribed item costs £7.20, although people on regular medication can save money with prepayment certificates.

Free at the point of use

Launching the free service, Northern Ireland’s Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey said: "I believe that charging people for vital medication is totally against the principles of a health service that is free at the point of use.

“Prescription charges have been called a tax on illness. The fact is that within our community there are ill people who do not have enough money to pay for their prescriptions. They are being forced to choose between their medicine and food, which is totally unacceptable.

“Why should the health service fund the cost of operations, outpatient appointments and diagnostic tests and expect people with asthma, diabetes and other lifelong conditions to pay for the medication they desperately need?

“When I carried out my review of prescription charging I looked at a number of different options. One option was to extend the list of conditions that would be exempt - but that would mean trying to rank one illness against another, this goes against the principles of equality.”

The minister says the cost of abolishing prescription charges will not mean cuts to other services.

However, he warns patients not to take the change as an excuse to ask for more medication. “A pill is not necessary for every ill. I want to assure the public that I will be monitoring the volumes of drugs dispensed very carefully.”

Doctors welcome the move

Northern Ireland’s doctors have welcomed the start of free prescriptions.

Dr Paul Darragh, Chairman of the BMA’s Council in Northern Ireland, says in a news release: “This is a momentous day for healthcare in Northern Ireland.

“Patients with chronic and life threatening illnesses who need regular medication will now be able to get their medicines without having to worry about the cost”.

Dr Brian Dunn, heads of the BMA’s Northern Ireland GP committee agrees: “GPs have seen first hand how patients had to contend with the inequalities of the previous charging system. I will now be able to write prescriptions in the knowledge that cost won’t be a factor in preventing patients from taking their medicines.”