Scotland’s struggling NHS is spending £8.53 per pack of paracetamol under the SNP Government’s free prescription policy. Figures from the Public Health Scotland agency show nearly 2.5m paracetamol prescriptions were issued last year.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the public purse shelled out £14m for the painkiller as well as a £7m “dispensing” fee. The £21m total bill was criticised as “absurd” by MSP Stephen Kerr.
An ibuprofen script cost the NHS £6.87 last year, unlike in shops where it can cost 39p.
The free prescriptions policy was introduced by Alex Salmond’s Government in 2011.
The revelation comes as around one in six Scots is languishing on a waiting list and patients struggle to get a GP appointment.
The PHS figures showed the cost of 2,472,463 prescriptions for paracetamol came in at nearly £14.2m, around £5.72 per prescription. The total cost was £8.53 after an average dispensing fee of £2.81.
Jenni Minto, the SNP’s Public Health Minister, said: “Prescription charges are a barrier to good health and the Scottish Government will continue to protect free prescriptions.”
She added: “The prescribing of items such as paracetamol cannot be directly compared with medicines bought in retail outlets due to the limited quantity that can be purchased for the treatment of self-limiting illness or conditions.”
Kerr, a Tory, said: “It is beyond absurd that NHS Scotland is paying £8.50 for paracetamol and nearly £7 for ibuprofen – when these medications can be bought in supermarkets for mere pennies. This is a glaring example of the SNP’s reckless mismanagement and bloated bureaucracy.”
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