Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Beith MP

Alan Beith MP calls for Gordon Brown to keep his prescription charge promise

Sir Alan Beith, the Liberal Democrat MP for Berwick upon Tweed, has added his support to a campaign urging Gordon Brown to keep a promise he made over a year ago, to abolish prescription charges for people with long-term conditions in England.

Sir Alan has supported the 'Prescription Promise' campaign by signing up to a new Parliamentary motion, calling on Ministers to publish their review of prescription charges as soon as possible and set a clear timetable for the implementation of Gordon Brown's promise.

The 'Prescription Promise' campaign is led by a coalition of twenty health charities, who represent the voices of millions of people with long-term conditions.

Sir Alan said:

"I'm concerned about the number of people with long-term conditions in my constituency who may be choosing to go without vital medicines as a result of the recession and the rising costs of fuel and other bills and the Northumberland Citizens Advice Bureaux have told me about this problem.

"Gordon Brown was right to promise free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions, but he must now follow through and implement this promise as soon as possible."

Members of the public who would like to sign the 'Prescription Promise' campaign's petition can do so at prescriptionpromise.org

Sir Alan Beith MP has signed up to EDM 306: Free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions: that this House supports the Prescription Promise Campaign in urging the Prime Minister to implement his promise, made in September 2008, to abolish prescription charges for people with long-term conditions as soon as possible; believes that timely access to appropriate medication is crucial to minimise the impact of living with a long-term condition for the individual and cost of treating long-term conditions for the NHS; is therefore concerned that the recession has made it harder for large numbers of people with long-term conditions to pay for their prescriptions and many are going without vital medicines; notes that the Government has identified savings from the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme of around £550 million per year from 2010 which will be more than sufficient to cover the £250-350 million cost, estimated by the Department of Health, of implementing free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions; notes with concern that Professor Ian Gilmore's review of prescription charges has not yet been published; and calls on the Government to publish this review and its response as soon as possible.

The Prescription Charges Coalition, established in 2006, is made up of the following 20 organisations representing a wide range of long-term conditions: Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group, Arthritis Care, Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, Asthma UK, Behcets Syndrome Society, British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK, Disability Alliance, Klinefelter's Syndrome Association, Mind, MS Society, National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society, National Association for Colitis and Crohn's Disease, National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, Parkinson's Disease Society, Pernicious Anaemia Society, Rethink, Stroke Association, Skin Care Campaign and Terrence Higgins Trust.

The Prime Minister promised in his Leader's Speech at the 2008 Labour party conference, to abolish prescription charges for all people with all long-term conditions. The coalition is campaigning for this to happen as soon as possible, and certainly before the general election.

Exempting people with long-term conditions from prescription charges would directly improve drug compliance and health outcomes among those who are struggling to afford their medicines. It is therefore likely that the NHS would be able to treat long-term conditions more cost effectively as a result of prescription charge exemption, given the evidence that under-treatment of long-term conditions due to cost issues results in increased use of health services. People who struggle to afford prescription charges adopt a number of coping strategies, including not going to see their GP (to avoid the prescription), not getting the prescription dispensed, or prioritising amongst different items.

In his Leader's speech to Labour Party Conference on 23 September 2008, Gordon Brown said, 'As over the next few years the NHS generates cash savings in its drugs budget we will plough savings back into abolishing charges for all patients with long-term conditions'. The savings from the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme referred to in the motion are taken from the Department of Health's written evidence (TF01) to the Health Select Committee's inquiry into Top Up Fees. The cost estimate for implementing free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions, again referred to in the motion, is from the answer to a parliamentary question (Hansard, 16 Oct 2008 : Column 1468W).