|
27-02-2008
New research carried out by Ipsos MORI for national charity Citizens Advice reveals that around 800,000 people failed to collect a prescription last year in England because of the cost involved.
The charity warns that not being able to afford prescription charges means many poorer people with chronic health problems are not getting the treatment they need and are putting their health at risk.
Citizens Advice is calling on the Department of Health to stop stalling and carry out the review of prescription charging in England, first recommended by the Health Select Committee over 18 months ago. The longer the government fails to look into the issue, says Citizens Advice, the more people in England are going without prescriptions they need. This latest figure shows there has been no improvement since 2001 when Ipsos MORI carried out a similar survey for the charity.
Citizens Advice adds that the situation will only get worse when the Employment Support Allowance replaces Incapacity Benefit for new claimants from October this year as this will result in more people on low incomes and in poor health also losing automatic entitlement to free prescriptions.
Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said:
"We first raised this problem in 2001, yet seven years later the number of people failing to cash a prescription because they can’t afford it has remained unchanged.
"And although the Government says it recognises the links between poverty and ill health, the Department of Health’s extraordinary delay in starting the consulting process has resulted in hundreds of thousands of people not being able to afford the treatments they need. Progress in Wales and Scotland has raised the stakes. It is simply unacceptable that people are still failing to collect prescriptions because they can’t afford it. It is essential that there is now urgent action to finally eliminate prescription poverty in England."
The Health Select Committee first recommended that a review be undertaken in July 2006, but the Department took a further year before announcing in July 2007 that it would consult on reform “in the autumn”.
Case studies
A CAB in Hampshire saw a man who was receiving long term medication. He was on a low income with learning difficulties and unable to read. He was told that he was exempt from charges but then received a prescription penalty charge notice for £79.80 and then a final action letter for £113.05. The man only had limited payment options but was told he had to pay outstanding fines.
A CAB saw a single man who had been receiving Incapacity Benefit (IB) for over 4 years. In the first two years he was eligible for free prescriptions. After two years he was no longer entitled for free prescriptions because his income exceeded the allowed excess of half the current cost of a prescription, £3.43. His prescription cost was £13.70 per month and he was worried about the cost of the new medicines which his doctor might prescribe.
A CAB in Hertfordshire saw a woman under 25 who was in receipt of incapacity benefit and disability living allowance. She needed at least two prescriptions per fortnight, but because of her age and circumstances she was not entitled to help with prescription costs. She could not afford to pay for a pre-payment certificate in one go.
Extra notes to editors:
Topline results available on request
- Currently, single people aged 25 or over in work and in receipt of Working Tax Credit including a disability element are exempt from prescription charges if their gross annual income does not exceed £15,050 (this equates to £289 per week). However if they then become unable to work because of ill health and their income drops, they lose entitlement to free perscriptions if their income exceeds £62.58 per week. Not being able to afford prescriptions may make it harder for people to regain health and get back to work.
- If a person falsely claims exemption from prescription charges s/he may face a penalty charge. The penalty charge is five times the charge that the client should have paid, up to a maximum of £100. The client will also be asked to pay the original charge itself. The penalty charge is increased by 50 per cent of the penalty charge if s/he does not pay within 28 days of the date the penalty charge notice is sent.
- The 2008 survey was undertaken by Ipsos MORI (Please contact Jo Slaymaker or Alex Plumb – 020 7347 3000). A nationally representative sample of 1,075 adults aged 16+ was interviewed in England and Scotland across 184 constituency-based sampling points from 17-22 January 2008. All interviews were conducted face-to-face, in-home and the data have been weighted to the known profile of the British population. The population estimate is based on 41,088,900 adults aged 16+ in England and carries an error of +/- 1 of the entire population of adults aged 16+ in England, 95 times in 100.
- The 2001 study on prescription charges was undertaken by Ipsos MORI. A nationally representative quota sample of 1,052 adults was interviewed throughout Great Britain across 150 constituency-based sampling points from 6-10 April 2001. All interviews were conducted face-to-face, in-home and the data have been weighted to the known profile of the British population. The study reveals that of those who have to pay for a prescription each time they have one dispensed, seven per cent fail to do so because of the cost, which equates to around 750,000 people in England and Wales.
Notes to editors:
- The Citizens Advice service is a network of independent charities that helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more information in England and Wales see
 www.citizensadvice.org.uk
- The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
- Most Citizens Advice service staff are trained volunteers, working at over 3,300 locations across England and Wales.
- Advice and information www.adviceguide.org.uk
- Volunteer hotline 08451 264264 (local rate)
- Citizens Advice Guide to your rights, second edition: January 2008 - over 600 pages of practical, independent CAB advice. An invaluable resource for any bookshelf - available from all good bookshops; price £11.99; ISBN: 9780141034089
|
