Providing paracetamol to patients in England cost NHS over £70m last year, official figures show
Almost £400 million has been spent on the drug in the last five years
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The NHS spent more than £70m giving paracetamol to patients in England last year despite the medication being available over the counter at a fraction of the cost.
Family doctors issued more than 21.7 million prescriptions of the everyday painkillers at a cost of £3.23 per item, despite the pills being sold for as little as 19p in supermarkets.
The 2016/17 figure of £70.18m, revealed in response to a written parliamentary question tabled by Labour MP Grahame Morris, shows the bill has fallen from £84.86m in 2015/16 and £86.88m the year before.
The total bill for the five-year period is close to £400m (£398,875,111), according to reimbursement price data provided by health minister Steve Brine.
It comes after NHS England announced plans to develop new national guidelines cracking down on prescriptions for medicines available in supermarkets and chemists, such as gluten-free foods and travel vaccines.
Mr Morris, MP for Easington, said it was irrational to provide paracetamol on prescription if the cost is 10 times higher than a GP supplying it directly.
He told the Press Association: "I believe all drugs patients require should be available on the NHS.
"At a time when the Government is placing extreme funding pressure on our health service, we should seek avenues to make savings where they will not impact patient services.
"It seems irrational to provide paracetamol on prescription if the cost is ten times higher than it would be for a GP to simply supply such items directly to patients, as they can often be purchased for pennies on the high street.
"There will be a number of low-cost readily available drugs which could be supplied in such a manner.
"However, I am very cautious. I am simply asking questions in the hope others can suggest suitable methods as there are often unforeseen consequences to what seems to be relatively simple issues to resolve.
"We must maintain the provision of basic drugs on the NHS but find more efficient ways to provide them to patients."
Mr Brine, when outlining the figures issued to Mr Morris, said: "The cost reported is at reimbursement prices.
"This does not take account of the margin that pharmacies earn on the medicines they dispense.
"This margin is subsequently taken into account as contributing towards the target level of funding for community pharmacy as part of the community pharmacy contractual framework."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments