Prescriptions will no longer be issued for patients
View of Hull Royal Infirmary(Image: Humber Health Partnership)
Hull’s hospital pharmacy team is advising patients that they will no longer get a prescription for over-the-counter medication when they leave hospital. The NHS spends around £136m each year on prescriptions for medicines, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, which can be bought from a pharmacy or supermarket without the need of a hospital prescription.
Now, Hull University Teaching Hospitals, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, will no longer issue prescriptions for over-the-counter medications in most cases, even if patients qualify for free prescriptions. Antonio Ramirez, deputy chief pharmacist at Humber Health Partnership, said the change would bring the trust into line with Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust, the other organisation in the partnership which runs Scunthorpe General, Goole Hospital and Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, along with GPs in our area.
He said: “Our medication budget has to prioritise patients with the most serious conditions such as cancer or heart conditions. If people have minor health conditions, they will no longer receive a prescription from us when they leave hospital, even if they normally qualify for free prescriptions.
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“If patients do need over-the-counter medications for minor health conditions, we ask that they arrange this for themselves when they leave hospital. This already happens when people visit their GPs and are asked to buy their own over-the-counter medication so that will now apply in all of our hospitals.”
There will be some cases where patients are prescribed over-the-counter medicines when they leave hospital, including those with long-term conditions and more complex minor conditions. However, these patients will be advised by the clinical team about what they will need to do when they are well enough to leave hospital.
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