Drugs Payment Scheme equivalent in the UK

Maria26C

Hi,
I recently was diagonised with Ulcerative Colitis and started medication in late August. It was always my intention to move to and work in London in the next year, however I am unsure whether my UC is now going to prevent this. The medication which I take is incredibly expensive, and I would not be able to afford this without the Drugs Payment Scheme.

Does anyone know if there is an equivalent in the UK and if so what are the conditions attaching to it?? I know that there is some allowances/benefits for other long term illness sufferers but I have not seen Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's disease specified in any.

Any information at all would be a great help

kangaroo

Maria26C wrote: »

Hi,
I recently was diagonised with Ulcerative Colitis and started medication in late August. It was always my intention to move to and work in London in the next year, however I am unsure whether my UC is now going to prevent this. The medication which I take is incredibly expensive, and I would not be able to afford this without the Drugs Payment Scheme.

Does anyone know if there is an equivalent in the UK and if so what are the conditions attaching to it?? I know that there is some allowances/benefits for other long term illness sufferers but I have not seen Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's disease specified in any.

Any information at all would be a great help

You could contact a patient organisation such as Crohn's and Colitis UK:
http://www.nacc.org.uk/content/home.asp#top

Crohn's and Colitis UK aims to improve life for everyone affected by Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), the most common forms being Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Together these conditions affect about 250,000 people in the United Kingdom.

and see what they have to say.

In the UK, they have NICE and similar initiatives, which means sometimes drugs which are covered in Ireland, aren't covered in the UK. If it is covered by the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, the cost won't be much and one can get a long-term drugs card which means a figure like £102 will cover all your drugs for the year (for England; in some areas like Wales I think all covered drugs are free).

However, if it is not covered by NICE, I think it would require a private prescription for the full price (although reading some stuff in the media at the moment, drug prices can be a lot cheaper in the UK than Ireland).

Best of luck.

Maria26C

Hey,

Thanks for that information. I have emailed the patient organisation so hopefully they'll be able to provide some additional information.

Thanks again, appreciate it.

2rkehij30qtza5

Maria26c, would you mind giving an update in what they tell you as I am in the same boat (I.e. contemplating a move to the UK and on the dps). Thanks

locum-motion

In the UK, the whole population is covered by the NHS, and everybody's medications are paid for.*

There is a fee per item that the patient contributes, but it is unrelated to the price of the drug and it's the same fee whether the cost of the meds is 50p or £500. I don't know how much it is these days, but it used to be about £7.

Certain classes of people are exempt from the charge, and therefore their meds are totally free. The classes that spring to mind are:
1. U16s
2. Over 65s
3. People on the dole
4. People with certain illnesses; roughly a similar list than the list that gets you an LTI card here.
5. Oral contraceptives don't have a fee
6. People who buy a "season ticket". If you have to pay, but are on lots of meds, you can effectively cap your expenditure by buying a "season ticket". I don't know how much they cost these days. This is the nearest thing to the DPS.
There may be other categories that I can't remember. It's over 16 years since I worked in the UK.

Edit: I looked it up here
The prescription charge is £7.65 per item.
The "Season Ticket" is called a Prescription Prepayment Certificate, and it costs £29.10 for 3 months or £104.00 for 12 months. This will save you money if you need 4 or more items per 3 months or 15 items per 12 months.
The list of people who get it free is:

You can get free NHS prescriptions if, at the time the prescription is dispensed, you:
are 60 or over
are under 16
are 16-18 and in full-time education
are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate (MatEx)
have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
have a continuing physical disability that prevents you from going out without help from another person and have a valid MedEx
hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
are an NHS inpatient

You are also entitled to free prescriptions if you or your partner (including civil partners) are named on, or are entitled to, an NHS tax credit exemption certificate or a valid HC2 certificate (full help with health costs), or you receive either:
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or
Pension Credit Guarantee Credit

Find out more about the NHS Low Income Scheme (LIS).

* Occasionally, very rarely, a person may elect to see a consultant on a private basis, and they will have to pay full whack for that prescription, as it's outside the NHS system. I'm fairly sure that I never saw a single private prescription when I worked in the UK.

Maria26C

Hey,

From anyone I have spoken to now it seems that we would be covered by the NHS for this so would only be paying the £7.65 - which is way cheaper than here!!

locum-motion

Maria26C wrote: »

Hey,

From anyone I have spoken to now it seems that we would be covered by the NHS for this so would only be paying the £7.65 - which is way cheaper than here!!

I told you that over two weeks ago on this thread. Did you not believe me, or something?