SIR – As an OAP in need of several NHS prescription medications every month, free for 10 years now – I have not taken much notice of how much they cost per item for those who have to pay.
With of course only the sick in England in that category, as the rest of the UK ie Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland don’t pay anything.
But I was very surprised yesterday at my usual pharmacy in BD10 area to learn from someone else higher up the queue that today’s it’s £8.05p! As when the National Minimum Wage hourly rate for an “adult” worker is only £6.31p it seems a bit steep?
I am old enough to recall when they were free for everyone, with the first charge introduced at one shilliing (5p) the cost escalating over the years, but never before so out of kilter with basic earnings. When England, which pays the most in taxes of every kind, is the only UK area where prescriptions are not free, there is something very, very wrong.
D S Boyes, Upper Rodley Lane, Leeds
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