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    Il paracetamolo con prescrizione gratuita costa ai contribuenti £ 9

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    36 commenti

    1. giblets46 on

      There is currently a petition doing the rounds in Westminster to ban calling these things ‘free’ rather than taxpayer funded

    2. Deadliftdeadlife on

      Am I missing something? It didn’t explain why

      Why does a 35p pack of paracetamol cost £9 to the NHS

    3. Toothfairy29 on

      It absolutely horrifies me that anyone could be in a position where a 35p packet of paracetamol is not affordable to them. My father in law is in his 70s and declines his repeat Rx of paracetamol (is on a myriad of other medications, but takes 4g paracetamol daily in addition to his tramadol) and buys them himself.

    4. flyhmstr on

      Trouble is for people who need more than the “here you are allowed two small packs” allowance the only legal way to get a sensible quantity (herself gets two months in one hit from the GP rather than sending me out every few days)

    5. Minimum_Definition75 on

      It’s not really a cost issue. I currently need paracetamol on an ongoing (hopefully short term) basis. The problem for me is the 2 small pack rule.

      I can’t currently drive so would have to take regular taxis / lifts to various retailers to get supplies. I don’t live near shops. It’s a total pain when you are ill anyway.

    6. kbm79 on

      Its a shame they didn’t do a more balanced review, say the most expensive drugs that tax payers dont have to pay extra for.

      Not the £100k per month life saving cancer treatment type, but common drugs for heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure etc.

    7. Powerful-Reward-9108 on

      When I went in for something a while back I was given paracetamol to take away, not offered, just handed alongside some medication. I remember thinking at the time that I’d have been more than happy to just get my own, though realise that’s a privileged view compared to some.

      Surely the easiest way would have been for me to be asked if I could buy my own paracetamol or if I would prefer to be given some.

      Ditto that for any of the standard non controlled medication really, thinking about it.

    8. salamanderwolf on

      Just FYI, this is in Scotland, not England. It’s a totally different organisation to the English NHS with different outlooks and goals.

    9. Crafty_Reflection410 on

      Alot of gps/healthcare practitioners won’t prescribe it.

      Eg I’m a dentist and I flat out tell patients it’s a waste of nhs resources to prescribe and they can go and buy it. Same for things like ibuprofen, Bonjela etc

    10. random_user_1968 on

      I got a prescription that included 100 paracetamol on a repeat prescription when I was discharged from hospital, when I renewed my prescription, I asked that the paracetamol be removed.

      I did this as I can buy some at around 35p per pack at my local shop and didn’t want to burden the NHS with the cost of what is generally a household staple.

    11. Key-Sandwich-7568 on

      I don’t understand. Why do Paracetamols need a prescription? Boots charge them less than a quid.

    12. jenny_905 on

      Tories relentlessly push this bullshit and have done for years. They most recently pushed it two months ago in fact:
      https://old.reddit.com/r/Scotland/comments/1o9wk08/scottish_tory_doesnt_understand_basic_medicine/

      They never listen to any professional who corrects them and points out why paracetamol is sometimes prescribed. Given it is apparently necessary to repeat, here’s a rebuttal to this stupidity:

      >Tories have been banging that idiotic paracetamol drum for years… maybe even decades at this point.

      >They constantly get informed of the truth but don’t listen, it’s a cheap headline and they have plenty of editor pals who will run it in their rags year on year.

      >Paracetamol is primarily prescribed to patients where compliance is a concern. Older patients primarily where you want them to take two tablets four times a day every day. These patients are sometimes on dosette boxes so there’s no chance of them buying their own paracetamol, their medication is packaged and they (or their carers) are administering it by popping the cell and giving every tablet in it at the correct time. Even if they are not on dosette boxes you get far better compliance from many patients by sticking a pharmacy label on a box with direct instructions, sending them to tesco for something they may not even be familiar with (why is there so many brands?) is not appropriate in all cases.

      >If a GP wants you to take paracetamol and you are younger, mentally all there, no dementia, not in care or any other concern that may affect your medicines compliance it is highly unlikely they will even prescribe paracetamol and will advise to buy your own, especially if it is the only medicine they want you to take. They may prescribe a small amount if you are also prescribed other drugs for convenience though in some cases, pick it all up at once from the pharmacy.

    13. Confident-Leek-7512 on

      Or more accurately “Scottish government uses some of their healthcare budget on low cost painkillers” as if they need approval from some cunt in the Telegraph to decide how to spend their money.

      Never mind though because if you google anything NHS related and the telegraph you come up with a litany of articles that are blatantly just trying to undermine the NHS – such gems as “if the NHS were a private company it would have gone bust” well yes because that is exactly how services are meant to work?

    14. Sweaty-Bodybuilder29 on

      Wouldn’t it be better to have a discount on OTC instead of paying £9. Seems a waste of money for something you can buy for 50p

    15. Airurando-jin on

      I work in general practice. We don’t prescribe paracetamol here unless there is a an extremely legitimate reason you can’t access it. We will advise patients to purchase paracetamol  or Ibruprofen from a shop given it can be purchased for nearly nothing  

    16. cjc1983 on

      Why doesn’t some NHS procurement person just speak to Aldi’s head office and ask them to drop a pallet of 50p a pop paracetamol at every hospital and GP surgery in the country?

      Obviously I’m being facetious but if all of the supermarket supply chains can do this why can’t the NHS?

    17. ZeldaShrine4 on

      When I worked as carer, we couldn’t administer paracetamol/ibuprofen unless it was prescribed by the doc and given on prescription from the pharmacy. It drove people mad that you could get the same thing for 70p from the shop but they had to pay the £8 prescription charge (plus the cost to the taxpayer). To change anything about it; they need to change that admin loophole

    18. NGeoTeacher on

      My grandparents recently insisted I take two boxes containing 500 paracetamol back home with me. They said they keep being given it by their doctor, but never feel the need to take it.

    19. Turbulent-Grade-3559 on

      There are certain things they should refuse to prescribe, or atleast let people know the price.

      You’ll need drug x,y and z

      You’ll also probably want paracetamol. It will cost £9 to you if we prescribe it or you can buy it over the counter for 25 pence for the same amount of tablets for the same dose.

      Your choice

      I know which I’d choose

    20. Blank3k on

      My experience is that doctors should only be prescribing paracetamol in ‘bulk’ as over the counter can only get a couple of boxes without getting rejected.

      And the £9 is a flat fee whether it’s a 1p pill or £1000 pill.

      Also those in need, typically can & do get it for “actual” free.

    22. tHrow4Way997 on

      Nice attempt to distract us into outrage at medicine for poor people so we forget about the corrupt billions funnelled out of the NHS by the tories during covid.

    23. Astriania on

      We should have free (or nominal fee, maybe) prescriptions for everyone. 80% of them are freebies for pensioners already, so the marginal cost to let working age people have them free would be fairly small, and it’s just so unfair that the most burdensome and richest demographic gets them free and the rest of the population don’t.

    24. becca413g on

      For those that are on the max dose daily it can be very difficult to get hold of enough packets especially for those of us who are less mobile or otherwise disabled as you can only buy 2 packets at a time and you can also be refused for other restricted medications. As an example I was not allowed to by two packets of paracetamol and two packets of Imodium at the same shop. In these cases it’s appropriate to prescribe paracetamol. For that time you’ve just got a cold or for a short period after surgery it seems logical that most people can obtain and finance the medication themselves.

      The same goes for other medications. I require Imodium daily following bowel surgery but it’s costing me over £10 a week and fortunately I am mobile, although I do use a long cane due to being sight impaired, but the frequency with which I need to buy them has made retailer’s cautious about selling me them. I even resorted to showing one my surgery scars to try and convince them I was buying them for a genuine medical reason and they keep saying go to the GP and get it prescribed. I’ve just been putting it off but frankly it would save me a lot of hassle if I could as I’m buying packets every couple of days.

    25. PissTitsAndBush on

      I thought they stopped Paracetamol prescriptions years ago for this exact reason? We can’t get it at our local GP for this exact reason (rightfully so)

    26. eimankillian on

      Most pharmacist would just say get the shelf ones from the store not the one directly through the Gp/ prescription.

    27. Big-Ratio-2103 on

      Another Telegraph rage-bait story!

      [https://www.coastalmedicalpartnership.nhs.uk/find-out-the-real-cost-of-100-paracetamol-tablets-to-the-nhs](https://www.coastalmedicalpartnership.nhs.uk/find-out-the-real-cost-of-100-paracetamol-tablets-to-the-nhs)

      [https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/1a-over-the-counter-leaflet-v1.pdf](https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/1a-over-the-counter-leaflet-v1.pdf)

      [https://www.elthammedicalpractice.nhs.uk/changes-to-over-the-counter-otc-medicine-prescriptions/](https://www.elthammedicalpractice.nhs.uk/changes-to-over-the-counter-otc-medicine-prescriptions/)

    28. Jay-Seekay on

      CA$80.00 when I was in Canada. I just said “no thanks” and went and bought some off the shelf, but it was still more expensive than your Boots 50p Paracetemol.

    29. Hitching-galaxy on

      Torygraph attacking Scotland to bring them down to England’s level of no free prescriptions for working age people?!

    30. Tsukiko615 on

      There are so many reasons why a prescription is necessary for many people on paracetamol.
      1. Carers typically only give prescribed medications so most people in care will need this.
      2. There is a restriction on the amount of paracetamol you can purchase at the store. If you take the full amount every day you need 248 a month. You need a prescription for this.
      3. Many people with mobility issues will get their medication delivered.
      4. People regularly receiving paracetamol often also have a prepaid prescription or receive it free due to age/disability. The cost of ordering multiple packs across separate orders including delivery will be much more than £9 and can often get flagged and prevented.

      I’m sure there are instances of doctors prescribing paracetamol where it’s not required but for many years I’ve just been told to purchase it otc when I’ve had a fever or been in pain because they don’t prescribe it unless it’s for long term issues.

    31. buildjimy on

      I had cheap to buy items on my repeat prescription which i dont have to pay for, I had them taken off and buy them myself, every little helps .

    32. CaterpillarLoud8071 on

      Isn’t there an easy fix for this? Rather than filling out prescriptions for paracetamol, give patients recommendations to take paracetamol. They can even have vouchers that retailers and pharmacies will accept for a 35p box of paracetamol if they’re that worried about affordability.

    33. Ochib on

      Problem is I can only buy two packs at a time (32 tablets). I take 6-8 per day, so that’s less than a weeks supply. If I get a prescription I can get 160 tablets at a time.

    34. Plastic_Library649 on

      I mean I have chronic pain, and I get prescribed paracetamol to take with codeine, but it’s very large amounts.

      I get about 2 months worth in the prescription which is less than the same would cost in the 16 blister packs that Asda etc sell.

      Just as well I’m not suicidal, lol.

    35. Ricky-Nutmeg on

      It’s almost like the NHS is a public service and not looking to make a profit.

    36. BananaMilkshakeButt on

      Why is it costing the taxpayer £9, when you can get it for hella cheap from like Boots and shit?

      I’m not suggesting people on benefits should have to pay for it out of pocket, as I understand many can’t afford it (hence it being free to them), but why is it costing us so much when it doesn’t need to?

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