Well it seems as thought the NHS Christmas fairy has delivered another fine to a type I diabetic! Received it a day or two ago and have been reeling at the system. I've had type I diabetes since I was 10 and that's thirty years ago, and in all that time I have never been asked to produce a medical exemption certificate.Hi I have just received a letter saying i have to pay a £96 fine for not having a valid medical exemption certificate. I was diagnosed Type 1 in 1998 and have never paid for prescriptions since. Nobody has ever told me about this. Has anyone else had the same thing and if so what was the outcome?
Wondering whether Anne Robinson would be interested in this??Well it seems as thought the NHS Christmas fairy has delivered another fine to a type I diabetic! Received it a day or two ago and have been reeling at the system. I've had type I diabetes since I was 10 and that's thirty years ago, and in all that time I have never been asked to produce a medical exemption certificate.
About an hour or the phone to the Business Services Authority and apparently I can't have the fine removed, so it's pay up. I find this amazing that there's another department who issue them, it's a Gp who signs it off and it's all your own responsibility. Yes I don't have a certificate, so under law I am supposed to have a certificate to get free prescriptions. My Gp does not keep records whether I've been issued one, the department that issue them don't keep records beyond five years, the penalty department take three months to send a letter, I have this condition for the rest of my life.
Plan is to ring the Careline mentioned in a previous reply, then the MP......
Simple solution to all of this, the GP puts on your prescription if the person is exempt. I'm actually happy to pay for medications that aren't related to my diabetes, no problem but in reality all medical exemptions should be ticked off by the GP, not an individual. Then that's 2 NHS departments gone, probably a thousand administrators and we can get them all working as nurses in stead.
Sorry rant over, but not going to take this lying down. On and if I do get taken to court, in six months time, I lose my job..... Totally fair.
Quite possibly, I'm trying to find the law side of things at the moment, but this needs to be changed. I am in total agreement to chasing down the fraudsters, but where's the opportunity to appeal for those who've just made a mistake on getting something completed?Wondering whether Anne Robinson would be interested in this??
She tackles a lot of larger companies about their trading and stuff.
Quite possibly, I'm trying to find the law side of things at the moment, but this needs to be changed. I am in total agreement to chasing down the fraudsters, but where's the opportunity to appeal for those who've just made a mistake on getting something completed?
I can't link websites.. But it is hugely scarey to see the amount of money that they are getting back.. No doubt frsudulent people and innocent ignorants too.. (Sorry for that expression).
This is totally scarey!
I mentioned it at my pharmacy yesterday when collecting insulin and she wasn't aware of people being fined but said that it is not her task to remind people to have a valid exemption. Hope mine comes through very soon!!!!
Not really. It's the patient's responsibility to tick the box, and the pharmacist only then has to ask to see it. When the patient responds that they don't have it with them/mumbles something about "What", etc, the pharmacist simply ticks the "Evidence not seen" box and dispenses. This is the advice that they are given. They are told not to withhold treatment where there may be some doubt.I believe that is the problem here, some pharmacists have failed to perform their obligations by failing to ask for the exemption card.
The Pharmacist just writes seen or not seen on the top of the form. Personally I do think the pharmacist is equally at fault for not asking to see the certificate each time a prescription is collected.I agree it is the patiient's responsibility to tick the box, but I have ticked that box for 38 years and never once been asked to produce a certificate. So in all those ticks the pharmacist has failed in their obligation to request the certificate.
Also where is the evidence not seen box?