Fresh calls abolish prescription charges for asthma sufferers
The Government has been urged to abolish prescription charges for asthma sufferers which an MP says are putting thousands of West Midlands patients at risk.
Ian Austin has backed Asthma UK’s campaign for free treatment after the charity revealed that more than 150,000 people with asthma across the region were struggling to afford prescriptions.
The independent MP for Dudley North has asked Health Secretary Matt Hancock to change the prescription charges exemptions list to include asthma medicine.
He said: “It is unacceptable that thousands of people with asthma in the Black Country are paying unfair costs for their medicines and that this is putting their health at risk.
“When people with asthma are struggling financially they may feel they simply cannot afford to pay for the medication. By not taking it, they are at risk of being hospitalised or even dying from an asthma attack.
“I want the government to review the prescription charges exemptions list and abolish charges to people with asthma.”
Last year a total of 334 people were with asthma were put in hospital in NHS Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group area.
Mr Austin wants to see a level playing field for asthma sufferers, arguing that people with other life-threatening and long-term conditions such as diabetes and epilepsy get their prescriptions free of charge.
Patients in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland get their prescriptions free.
Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Policy at Asthma UK said: "It is grossly unfair that people with asthma have to pay for prescription charges especially when those with other long-term conditions get theirs free.
"That’s why we’re calling on the Government to stop prescription charges for people with asthma. Together we can make sure no one has to pay to breathe.”
It came as a new report found that young people in the UK are more likely to die from asthma than those in other wealthy countries.
Death rates for asthma in 10 to 24-year-olds was highest in the UK among all 14 European nations included in an analysis of 19 high-income countries.
According to the Nuffield Trust think tank and and the Association for Young People's Health, death rates for asthma in 10 to 24-year-olds was highest in the UK among all 14 European nations included in an analysis of 19 high-income countries.
