Government urged to stop stalling on prescription charges review

One year after the Department of Health promised to carry out a review on prescription charges in England, many hundreds of thousands of people on low incomes with chronic health problems are still notgetting their prescriptions dispensed and are putting their health at risk, says national charity Citizens Advice.

The Health Select Committee first issued the recommendation to consult on the issue of prescription charges in July 2006 and the Department of Health committed to consult on the issue on 22 July 2007. Yet one year on, there has been no progress.

Prescriptions have been free in Wales since 2007, and will be free in Scotland from 2011. While in Northern Ireland, the issue is under review.

The charity is calling on the Government to stop stalling andpublish its consultation paper on prescription chargereform as a matter of urgency. The longer the government fails to look into the issue, says Citizens Advice, the more people in England are going without prescriptions they need.

Earlier this year research carried out for the charity by Ipsos MORI revealed that around 800,000 people failed to collect a prescription last year in England because of the cost involved.

Citizens Advice Chief Executive David Harker said: "While the Government has been dragging its feet over tackling this issue, nearly a million people have gone without the prescriptions they need because of the cost. And with the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance in October, more people in poor health and on low incomes are set to lose automatic exemption from charges unless urgent action is taken."