Relief over pharmacy charges

As Daphne Minihane of Age Concern has pointed out, had the plan become reality, it would have been a source of stress and, potentially, hardship.

In these economically challenging times it clearly makes sense for economies to be made wherever possible in the public sector. That said, the likelihood of damaging the interests of the least well-off – and least well – in the community must always be weighed against the benefits of savings.

But there was always more to the hospital pharmacy issue than hard cash. Payment for prescriptions was envisaged as a means of easing pressure on a hard-pressed service. It is therefore appropriate that, in many cases, patients will be encouraged to source medication through their GPs rather than at the hospital.

It is, meanwhile, entirely plausible that plans to introduce charges at the hospital pharmacy amounted to the first step in a process that could have led to charges being made for all prescriptions. If this was what was intended, it is just as well that it has been nipped in the bud.

It is, of course, true that prescription charges were abolished at a time when the Island’s economy was more buoyant than at present. It is also true that had the move not been made then, government would not be considering it in the present circumstances. Resources are too strained.

But there are excellent reasons why the status quo should be maintained despite its impact on the public purse. To begin with, it means that this aspect of medical treatment is not a cause for concern for those living on slender means. Secondly, a community which has access to free prescribed medicine is more likely to be a healthy community.

In spite of these positives, some would say that system has deficiencies. For example, while free prescriptions are helping those least able to pay, they are also featherbedding those who can well afford to spend on medication.

Unfortunately, this is a defect that we shall have to live with. Any form of means testing would almost certainly be counter-productive in that the cost of administering it would outweigh the savings made.