28 day repeat prescriptions
Today I will mostly be moaning about the fecking state of the NHS and a new "28 day repeat prescription" rule that has been introduced 
Prescription charges, as we all know, are quite high - currently £6.65 per item (I accept the fact that some items actually cost way more than this if you were to buy them over the counter (if you were allowed to), but others do not). Up until recently, GP's would prescribe your medication in 'bulk' (within reason, say 3 months worth). Given that it is still 1 item, 3 months worth will still cost you £6.65.
This is a good system, as it keeps the cost of prescriptions down for the patient, and saves you badgering the GP/surgery staff every time you need more.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding as to the reason behind paying for prescriptions is about making a fair equal 'token gesture' contribution to the cost of the drugs; and that the bulk of the cost is picked up by the NHS from our NI contributions ??
My circumstances are that I need to take 2 lots of medicine (prescription items) each day. My GP would prescribe 3 months worth at a time, with a review every 6 months. At the 3 month interval between reviews I could just phone the surgery and order another repeat prescription. This system was costing me £13.30 every 3 months, so £53.20 for the year. Perfect
But now some penny pinching bean counter in the NHS has decided to change all this !
Basically, GPs can only prescribe 28 days worth of each item at a time. Therefore, it will now cost me £13.30 every month, or £159.60 for the year
Added to this the fact that I now have to phone the surgery every month for my repeat prescription which will be adding to their already heavy workload
I can buy a pre payment certificate, which will cost me about £93 for the year; but its £93 I have to stump up in full
For me, its more of an inconvenience and a good excuse to have a damn good moan. But there are some people in the community who genuinely will not be able to afford this ridiculous system.
The excuses (sorry, reasons) for the change published on the leaflet is that its all about wastage - giving people less drugs at a time will mean people wont stockpile it and waste it. That is utter bull ! This new rule affects repeat prescriptions only; therefore people who need to take medication on a repeated basis. If you need to take the medicine, you need to take it. If you have it in the house, and you need to take it, you will take it ! Simple ! You wouldn't not take it would you ?? Please someone tell me I'm wrong ???
What I think this will actually do is encourage people who are less able to afford this new system to take less of their medication to make it last longer. For example, one of my meds I need to take twice a day. I could choose to only take it in the morning to make it last 2 months. Wrong I know, and personally I wont be doing that; but you can see it happening. And of course, the result of that is that these people will make themselves ill, have to visit their GP ......
How can these bean counters be so shortsighted ....
Prescription charges, as we all know, are quite high - currently £6.65 per item (I accept the fact that some items actually cost way more than this if you were to buy them over the counter (if you were allowed to), but others do not). Up until recently, GP's would prescribe your medication in 'bulk' (within reason, say 3 months worth). Given that it is still 1 item, 3 months worth will still cost you £6.65.
This is a good system, as it keeps the cost of prescriptions down for the patient, and saves you badgering the GP/surgery staff every time you need more.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding as to the reason behind paying for prescriptions is about making a fair equal 'token gesture' contribution to the cost of the drugs; and that the bulk of the cost is picked up by the NHS from our NI contributions ??
My circumstances are that I need to take 2 lots of medicine (prescription items) each day. My GP would prescribe 3 months worth at a time, with a review every 6 months. At the 3 month interval between reviews I could just phone the surgery and order another repeat prescription. This system was costing me £13.30 every 3 months, so £53.20 for the year. Perfect
But now some penny pinching bean counter in the NHS has decided to change all this !
Basically, GPs can only prescribe 28 days worth of each item at a time. Therefore, it will now cost me £13.30 every month, or £159.60 for the year
Added to this the fact that I now have to phone the surgery every month for my repeat prescription which will be adding to their already heavy workload
I can buy a pre payment certificate, which will cost me about £93 for the year; but its £93 I have to stump up in full
For me, its more of an inconvenience and a good excuse to have a damn good moan. But there are some people in the community who genuinely will not be able to afford this ridiculous system.
The excuses (sorry, reasons) for the change published on the leaflet is that its all about wastage - giving people less drugs at a time will mean people wont stockpile it and waste it. That is utter bull ! This new rule affects repeat prescriptions only; therefore people who need to take medication on a repeated basis. If you need to take the medicine, you need to take it. If you have it in the house, and you need to take it, you will take it ! Simple ! You wouldn't not take it would you ?? Please someone tell me I'm wrong ???
What I think this will actually do is encourage people who are less able to afford this new system to take less of their medication to make it last longer. For example, one of my meds I need to take twice a day. I could choose to only take it in the morning to make it last 2 months. Wrong I know, and personally I wont be doing that; but you can see it happening. And of course, the result of that is that these people will make themselves ill, have to visit their GP ......
How can these bean counters be so shortsighted ....
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