What do you think about the rise in NHS charges?
In the news this week
Prescriptions in England will go up in April from £7.10 to £7.20. This is despite the fact that they are currently free in Wales, and will be free in Northern Ireland by 2010, and in Scotland by 2011.
The British Medical Association has appealed to the Government to put an end to these charges in England. Many doctors say the current situation is unfair and prescriptions should be free. They warn that prescription charges can be a barrier to receiving medication. What do you think?
Wherever you live, do you believe it should be one rule for all? And do price rises put you off paying for prescriptions? Share your comments below.
Interest rates cuts
But it's good news for everyone on tracker mortgages wherever they live as the Bank of England cuts interest rates to an all-time low of 0.5 per cent. And it's pumping billions of extra pounds into the economy in a new move known as 'quantitative easing' to dig itself out of the recession. This new consumer phrase basically means creating money from free air in a move hoped to support people and businesses.
Watch how to create money out of nothing.
Your comments
The most commented on report this week has been Two Left Feet. Many of you feel let down and frustrated after ordering baby products such as prams from the company, but you still haven't received the items months later, even though they've been paid for.
Comment 71 - AFDGLASGOW says: "I cannot express deeply enough my utter disgust at the way this company have and still are treating their customers, especially considering the nature of the purchases which are needed for new babies and very young children."
And there have been some sad tales on the Watchdog sofa report about pets. A year ago hundreds of you complained to Watchdog about agonising skin reactions. We were able to identify the cause - sachets containing a dangerous chemical, DMF, put in the sofas to stop mould growing. As a result of this, the European Commission is banning any products containing DMF from entering Europe.
Comment 2 - torreti says: "Our dog is always scratching. We've taken him to the vet and he has had skin scrapes and other tests. They say he has an allergy to something but doesn't know what. After watching about the sofas on Watchdog we're now wondering whether it could be the sofa."
Comment 6 - renster24 says: "My dog has developed a terrible rash. Vets say he has an allergy, but we can't find the cause."
Coming up on the programme - Monday 9 March
Have you got cash in the attic? We meet a family who've discovered £75 worth of dormant accounts that have been forgotten since 1959. And the family weren't the only ones to forget about the accounts. The bank can't remember them either and doesn't seem keen to pay up. Can Watchdog reunite them with their money? And will it be worth more now? We put pressure on the Minister for Consumer Affairs to find out why debt collection agencies repeatedly disregard their own guidelines. And with the help of indie rock band Starsailor, we could save you hundreds of pounds by revealing the online ticket agencies out to rip people off this summer.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~20~RS~)
Comments
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I think the N.H.S. charges should be uniform in the United Kingdom. It seems a nonsense that there should be different rules in different parts of the U.K.
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RE: NHS charges in England
Dear Watchdog,
This is another example of English people missing out because England does not have it's own parliament. The ability to scrap prescription charges is a devolved power to the other nations of the UK. What I want to know is why there is no public body acting on my behalf and against the government policy in Westminster?
I think scrapping prescription charges would be very popular among the English if they had a say in the matter!
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It would be wonderful if we did finally have free medication, i have rheumatiod arthritis, for one months medication costs me £49.70!
All that just to keep myself mobile enough to look after my young family.
I had to save up enough money to be able to afford a pre paid card total of £150.00 and a few pennies more.
So in the long run its worked out cheaper for me now.
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Regarding the stresses caused by Debt Recovery Co.'s - what about mainstream credit reference agencies such as Experian?
They can also hold inaccurate details about you, and it is incumbent on YOU to challenge THEM about the inaccuracies to get them to correct those inaccuracies (at a cost).In the past I have been refused credit on innaccurate information held about me!
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I think the cost of a prescription is too high and needs to be reduced to a nominal charge of ,say, £2.50 but I don't think it should be free as that encourages waste. When anything becomes free (well not free really as the taxpayers are covering it) it generally gets abused by some, and less valued by others. Previously a lot of " free prescriptions were wasted simply because they free and hadnt come at a cost to the pocket. I have a long term illness and buy a prepayment certificate £102.50. Also its worth remembering that they are already free to the over 60's and people on benefits, children etc. so the Government are thinking that the only people who have to pay are those that can afford it.
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Dear Watchdog,
I beleive that people with an incurable diseases, such as Cancer, Asthma, Diabetes should receive their presciptions for free and people that need one off medication such as antibiotics etc. should pay the standard price. It is always the sickess people who suffer and risk death if they are unable to pay for their medication.
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I think we pay enough taxes and giving free medications when the person is probably on the sick from work and getting a low wage is just common sense to me. Why doesnt the whole of the uk have different policies when we are on the same island? This government is crazy
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i think its about time england was brought into line with the rest of the country & abolish prescription charges.Why should we be discriminated against. Afer all, we do pay NI contributions.So where exatly is it going?.
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I would vote for a republic at the drop of a hat. Anything to get rid of the Westminster Club.
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I can not understand despite I have paid 70£ in direct salary tax over last 5 years why I have to 7.20£ per medicine. I rarely get sick, perhaps over last 5 years I went to see GP 8 times. The actual cost of medicine is no where near what we pay and far less. Ofcourse its not fair what we pay and what we get.
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