Hospital to introduce prescription charges from next month
- Princess Elizabeth Hospital to charge £5.40 per prescription item from 1st October
- Change brings hospital dispensing in line with community pharmacy charges
- Hospital has been dispensing increasing numbers of prescriptions previously supplied by community pharmacies
- Existing exemptions from prescription charges will continue to apply
- Card payments only, to be made at time of collection
The Princess Elizabeth Hospital will begin charging patients for eligible outpatient prescriptions from 1st October.
The Pharmacy Department will collect £5.40 per prescription item, bringing hospital dispensing in line with community pharmacy charges under The Health Service (Benefit) (Guernsey) Law, 1990.
Patients receiving outpatient prescriptions that would ordinarily attract a charge when dispensed by a community pharmacy will now pay the same amount when their medicines are dispensed by the hospital pharmacy. Payments will be accepted by card only at the time of collection.
The change follows approval from the Committee for Health & Social Care and addresses an inconsistency that has developed in recent years.
The PEH Pharmacy has dispensed an increasing number of outpatient prescriptions that were previously supplied by community pharmacies. While this shift has delivered significant savings to the States of Guernsey through lower medicines procurement costs, it has created a situation where some patients receive medicines free of charge simply because they are dispensed by the hospital rather than a community pharmacy.
The prescription charges will apply only to patients who would normally be expected to pay for prescriptions in the community. Patients who are exempt from prescription charges under existing arrangements will remain exempt when their prescriptions are dispensed by PEH Pharmacy.
The charge represents a contribution towards the cost of dispensing the prescription rather than the cost of the medicine itself.
Patients collecting prescriptions from PEH Pharmacy are asked to ensure they are prepared to make card payments when attending the department.
For further information, patients should contact the Pharmacy Department at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
Q&A
Q: When will the prescription charges begin?
A: The charges will be introduced from 1st October.
Q: How much will patients be charged per prescription item?
A: The charge will be £5.40 per prescription item, the same as community pharmacies.
Q: Will existing exemptions still apply?
A: Yes, patients who are exempt from prescription charges under existing arrangements will remain exempt when their prescriptions are dispensed by PEH Pharmacy.
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