UKC

As everyone I know is 60 this year, if not already there, and travel with a box full of pills, oh how we love discussing Statins. 
Whats happened with the threatened charging us for Prescriptions?

What's a prescription charge? 

Doctor gives you a prescription for medicine. You go to the pharmacy and get it. They charge you for it (9 quid, I think. No charge if you are age 60 or over)

I think graeme jackson was gently pointing out that prescription charges don't exist in Scotland ...

Actually England is the only part of the UK that has prescription charges.

I thought he was pointing out that it's £0 once 59 is but a memory. I hadn't remembered that in Scotland (and Wales & NI) they're free for all.

Having always lived in bits of England, you don't tend to notice the differences until somebody (usually TiE) points them out.

Not seen any posts from Tom in Edinburgh recently and I can't find his profile. Anyone know what's happened?

I know his views were very partisan but (IIRC) he always kept it clean and didn't descend into personal vitriol. UKC will be diminished without him adding to the breadth of opinions on here ☹️

I don't know about the over 60s but I know last time I went to pick mine up the box I normally tick to say why I'm not paying wasn't there, but then I didn't get charged so it was ok. 

Try https://www.ukclimbing.com/user/profile.php?id=141716

Apparently he changed his mind, and has recently joined the Conservative Party. Who knows what goes on in other peoples' minds?

I noticed when something nasty happened to me in England.   "How much"!

Ok, I get it finally, thank you!

Sorry, I didn't realise I was being quite so cryptic

The ASDB thread did mention an unknown drone cruising at 60,000ft over Edinburgh.

Perhaps the evil colonial oppressors took drastic action?

Or he is in the dungeon of that new office block by Waverley Station.

At the moment it is still only a proposal I think. If the Conservatives do bring it in and you need multiple prescriptions a month, investigate Prescription Prepayment Certificates. There is a charge for these but I think you break even at about four prescriptions a month.

Andy

Thank you. They seem to have gone all quiet on the subject. If you have 2 or more prescriptions a month, Pre Payment makes sense.

At 60 I qualify for a Senior Citizens rail card, and not much else, so was looking forward to my free prescriptions.
Even my NUS, Discount Card runs out then, I may have to enrol on another course.

It also ought to be possible for GPs to 'subvert' the system (in a helpful way for their patients) by prescribing longer courses of drugs in one single prescription - e.g. six months worth, rather than two months worth.

I don't know what norms are applied in the lengths of 'standard' prescriptions.

No, it's actually a substantial saving with just two.  It costs about a tenner a month.

One month of a lifelong treatment is the standard, though some can be swayed to a little more, you'll be lucky to get 6.  If it's to actually cure something (e.g. antibiotics) the full course.

I'd say if you're on anything daily and lifelong then just take the monthly package and stop worrying about it.

Reading this thread, I am very glad to not live in England!! You guys need to start voting differently!! 

I'm not personally worried about it. But if I was on a lifelong treatment and was having to pay for one prescription per month, rather than one every six months, I might feel that that was unnecessary.

I just see the monthly package as a very small amount of extra tax, which I can completely afford.  It doesn't bother me in the slightest.

I would rather it went on my income tax than a faffy extra direct debit, but I don't object to paying it.

But where do you go - three, six, twelve, a year...?

The standard NHS policy is one month.  There needs to be one if it's chargeable.

It's only a tenner a month, which is worthwhile if it means I don't have to live in Scotland.

You could stop sending money to Scotland and get the best of both worlds

Well, a different policy could be applied to something which is prescribed life-long, as opposed to a one-off. That would strike me as a fair thing to do.

Here in France I have a prescription for 6 months of Allopurinol, but the pharmacist can only give me 4 weeks worth at a time, so 6 monthly visits.

Some life-long medication is free, I suppose you could easily argue for all of it to be.

But then you go onto the principle that prescription charges aren't themselves fair, as I can have a £20K operation for nowt but have to pay for simple medications.  A fairer option would be a GP appointment charge, so one charge is made per "thing wrong" (and would stop people wasting appointments), or just stick it on general taxation.

As I said I don't mind paying £10 per month more tax for the NHS, which is what the prescription subscription basically is.  I'd rather that just went on my income tax by tweaking with the 20-40% boundary or similar, though, and that way we avoid it hitting people who can't afford it.

I didn't realise Scottish land had civilisation yet... 

It's gradually spreading outwards from those of us who've been brave enough to cross the border. 

https://www.ukclimbing.com/user/profile.php?id=141716

Hmm, when I searched using "edinburgh", it didn't find him, that's a bit strange.

Or is there a "hide my profile from searches" switch?

Thanks for the update Neil.

My user name is tom_in_edinburgh and it will probably see that as all one word.

Thanks, Rob

Errrr if you knew how many times in my life I've missed things that everyone else had seen or already knew about, you'd wonder about me belaying you as a leader [joke] (PS I'm on the spectrum, not kidding....)

I can supposedly get 2 months supply at a time, which I do, but for some reason the chemist has now started giving me 2 months supply every month. At least I've got 5 months supply in the cupboard now..

But the search picks up from part words, e.g. if I search for "ichae" it finds all the Michaels including myself.

Think I'm going to ask the UKC website developers.

I just tried searching users for edinburgh and it found me and a few other accounts with edinburgh in the name.