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Changes To Free Prescription Service Needed To Keep Costs Down, Audit Scotland Says

Unless changes are made to eligibility criteria for Scotland’s free prescription service, rising demands will push costs up against a backdrop of significantly reduced public spending, warns Audit Scotland.

In the report "Scotland’s public finances — addressing the challenges", Audit Scotland says the public sector budget in the current financial year is £27.5bn, a drop of 6 per cent (£1.7bn) from the previous year, with funding to the health sector reduced by 0.3 per cent.

Scotland’s ageing population is likely to increase demand for health and social care services and the report suggests a debate is required about whether those who can afford to pay for universal services such as prescription charges, personal and nursing care and tuition fees "might be invited to do so".

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Extract taken from PJ Online