Type 1: Prescription fine

I've just come back to try this forum again after many years absence. First letter I read was this one, which just reminded me of the pompous sanctimonious pious pain in the necks I encountered last time. Thankyou to RRB and some of the other later contributors for providing a bit of common sense.

Had to purchase insulin in Spain when mugged insulin in bag last eve before departure next day .Cost £47 (plus £80 for interpreter) moral is wherever you go always keep spare insulin elsewhere. Ps this was not refundable.

The medical exemption always used to be automatically renewed up until I think it was a couple of years ago. It was on breakfast which prompted me to check my card which expired in 2013. Anyway, I spoke with the medical exemption department and the chap I spoke to said they changed it due to medical conditions getting better and mess no longer being needed. On probing further to say that well I have diabetes and no it is not going to get better. It is apparently too much of a difficult task and too timely/costly to have a separate system for those with lifelong conditions that are not going to improve and no longer need meds.
So anyway. I had to waste a gp appointment that could have been used for a real medical need as the gent told me it had to be my go not the practise nurse to sign this bit of paper basically just to say I am still diabetic and do need my insulin et al and then I had to muck around wasting the pharmacies time to get them to sign another document so that I could get the fee for my prescription that I had just paid as I didn't have an exemption certificate any longer as it had expired. If I had not have replaced my card the gent said I could have faced a bill of thousands of pounds if they had caught up with me.

Hi
The NHS have been losing millions each year due to people claiming exemptions on their prescriptions and this year started to enforce fines. This isn't just a diabetic issue it effects anyone will a chronic illness. The easiest solution is to go to the NHS website and complete the form and get your GP to sign it. Alternatively call the prescription helpline which in my and my wife's experience has been excellent. Yeah will mark your records and I suspect advise on how to seek a refund or cancel the fine

It has been very quiet recently ref fines? Does anybody know the current stance of NHSBSA?

I certainly haven't seen extra advertising in our Practice?

We are surveying our patients and have included questions whether they are aware of exemption certificates- just to raise awareness to a few mire people...

When I was first diagnosed I was charged and given a form to claim it back and I had 3 months in which to make the claim. If the NHS (for whom I worked for 47 years) is so inefficient it doesn't chase you then they should only be able to charge you for the same period time, ie 3 months back meds.

Couldnt you go to a walk in centre and just be issued emergency insulin? Ive done this before, even abroad, never mind wales.

I have recently moved to England from Scotland. I was advised by my pharmacist to fill the exemption form as I have Type 2 diabetes. I filled it and submitted it to my Health Centre, The pharmacist issued me the prescription without charge as I had submitted the application. I did not receive the exemption card after 6 weeks and went to my GP who advised me to fill another form. They had asked me to wait for 6 weeks when I went to enquire earlier. I have now received the exemption card but it has a start date which is 9 days after the day I was issued medicine. I went to the pharmacy to enquire if I could pay and they told me that there was nothing that they could do now. Is there a way I can pay for the prescription as all confusion is due to ignorance,
The free prescription was given to me in first week of October and I do not want to receive a NHSBSA fine notice.

@ARNABKUNDU, for peace of mind why don't you contact them and ask what you should do, the telephone number is: 0300 330 1343 or 0191 279 0565

noblehead said:

@ARNABKUNDU, for peace of mind why don't you contact them and ask what you should do, the telephone number is: 0300 330 1343 or 0191 279 0565

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I put in my exemption application form on Friday of last week, The exemption certificate, came on Wednesday, and yesterday I got a £31 refund, that I had overpaid, on my prepayment certificate. The West Midland Health Authority have, as far as I am concerned, been totally on the ball, and I could not have asked for a better or faster service................

Scouser58 said:

When my medical exemption certificate came I gave it to the pharmacist, who input the details into his system, and hopefully this will give coverage for me until it runs out. Fingers crossed I am ok for a while,,,,ttfn from Karen.

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My local branch of Boots have done the same, although I always hand it to them as some seem to be hard of hearing.

I had similar a few months ago, a month after the fine letter I had a letter from them cancelling the fine as they now knew I had a certificate, although I had to pay the prescription fee for the month or two that I wasn't covered by the certificate .

I'm a pharmacist and for some reason they've started to crack down on people who don't have in date certificates recently. Basically, even if it's obvious, you need the card, which is something I've started informing people. As type 1s were naturally exempt but it pays to have the card now as it's still fraud to claim you have one if you don't (also, the pharmacy then don't get paid if they don't tick the not seen box, and I know from practice that we do tend to let people away that we know without seeing, and insulin and test strips are expensive!)

rubold said:

My original GP in 1972 just said you need to tick this box, sign the form as diabetes was a medical exemption and if you were being prescribed insulin then it was implicit that you had an exemption.

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That's what the wife was told around the same time and no problems since

Well my chemist always signs for me so maybe they should get fined

I have renewed my card for many years. Now 50's .
As type 1 and no cure seems silly lifetime card is not issued. Would surely cut down on administration/ postage.