Tom Griffin (London, OK): Northern Ireland is to abolish prescription charges from 2010, Health Minister Michael McGimpsey of the UUP announced today. The move will follow a reduction to £3 in January 2009.
"The introduction of free prescriptions was one of my party's manifesto commitments and was also one of my earliest assembly debates. A key consideration for me was the loss of around £13m income each year from prescription charges, and while it is only 3.5 per cent of the total drugs bill, it is still a lot of money."
He added: "After looking closely at the financial position with my officials, I have concluded that the cost of free prescriptions can be found within my existing budget and without impacting on any existing service."
Wales has already abolished prescription charges, and Scotland is set to follow suit in 2011. Although Gordon Brown announced moves to abolish charges for cancer patients last week, England is now the only UK nation in whch there are no plans to abolish prescription charges outright.
