The NHS prescription charge has long been a contentious issue, and indeed contributed to the resignation of Aneurin Bevan in 1951. This charge has been abolished in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, leaving patients in England alone in the UK in having to pay for their prescriptions, with no political will to change this anomaly. Why should patients in England be subject to this additional ‘tax’ on medicines, having already contributed to the NHS through general taxation?

There are many exemptions from the prescription charge, including age, pregnancy and some specific chronic conditions, such as diabetes, hypothyroidism and epilepsy. All NHS prescriptions …