Prescription charges

THOUSANDS of patients with long-term conditions have benefited from the falling cost of prescription charges in Scotland.
The cost of a single prescription has fallen from £5 to £4 and the cost of Prescription Pre-payment Certificates (PPCs) has been lowered from £48 to £38 for 12 months and £17 to £13 for four months.
This is the second consecutive year prescription charges in Scotland have been cut which will benefit hundreds of thousands of people across the country.
The immediate reduction, which became effective from April 1, 2009, is another major step towards the phased abolition of prescription charges.
It is particularly important for people with long-term conditions to be aware of Prescription pre-payment Certificates and the savings to be made by using these, instead of paying for individual prescriptions.
These reductions and the steps towards abolition of the prescription charges will help alleviate the significant financial burden of living with a long term condition.