Prescription charges

That this House restates its commitment to the National Health Service as a universal service free at the point of delivery and its belief that access to medication is a fundamental right; recognises the devastating impact that covid-19 has had on access to health services; is deeply concerned that increased waiting times could leave people with long-term conditions relying on medication to manage their pain and health conditions; considers the implications of the Government’s consultation on aligning prescription charges with the state pension age as being deeply dangerous and likely to disproportionately impact disadvantaged communities and widen existing health inequalities; fears that such a move would leave many older patients struggling to fund their medication; believes that those proposals would further increase pressure on NHS services through expensive hospital admissions; expresses its concern that more patients will have to make health choices based on their ability to pay for prescriptions; and calls on the Government to follow the devolved administrations in ending prescription charges for people with long-term health conditions in England and to set out a medium to long-term strategy for the scrapping of prescription charges altogether.