PSNC issues Prescription Charge Card for 2023
Following the Government decisions to increase in the NHS prescription charge and introduce a HRT prescription prepayment certificate from 1st April 2023, PSNC has designed two posters that can be displayed in community pharmacies.
PSNC’s Prescription Charge Card confirms the new NHS prescription charge of £9.65 per item, explaining that this is a tax from the Government that does not benefit the pharmacy who collects it in any way, and highlighting the cuts to pharmacy funding. Should this wording raise questions, pharmacy team members could use this as an opportunity to raise awareness of the #SaveOurPharmacies campaign and direct people to the campaign website: https://saveourpharmacies.co.uk/
Meanwhile, the Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) Poster provides information on how much PPCs can save patients. It also describes the new HRT PPC alongside a QR code that can be scanned to access further information.
When the NHS prescription charge increase was announced, PSNC CEO Janet Morrison said:
“The rise in prescription charge will once again hit the most vulnerable patients the hardest and it will continue to put community pharmacy teams in an impossible position – it is not our job to police a tax that many people cannot afford, and we should not have to help patients to make unbearable decisions about which medicines to pay for. While Government and the NHS have deemed it acceptable to put inflationary increases on their charges to patients, they refuse to offer community pharmacies any help at all with inflationary pressures: why is it one rule for us and another for them?”
Posters
Prescription Charge Card 2023/24 (colour)
Prescription Charge Card 2023/24 (black and white)
FAQs
Do I need to display a notice about the NHS prescription charge?
Yes, it is part of the NHS Terms of Service to have an up to date notice about the NHS prescription charge displayed in the prescription reception area. For further information, please see the clinical governance premises approved particulars. Using PSNC’s Prescription Charge Card can help meet this requirement whilst also informing patients that your pharmacy only collects (and doesn’t keep) this money, as well as raising awareness of the poor state of community pharmacy funding.
Related resources
Exemptions from the prescription charge
Prescription charge refund procedure
