By Professor John Robertson OBA
From Public Health Scotland, yesterday:
The total (net) cost for dispensing items and providing services in 2023/24 was £1.62 billion, increasing by 6.5% from £1.52 billion in 2022/23. This follows a period of largely rising cost, increasing by 35.3% over the last 10 years.1
UK general inflation in the same period was 34%.2
The inflation rate specifically for pharmaceuticals from 2015, was 33.5%.3 For 2014 it was 1.45%4, giving a total of 34.9%, almost exactly the same as the 35.3% for the cost of prescriptions.
In the same period:
The number of people aged 75 and over is projected to increase by around 29 per cent from 0.43 million in 2014 to 0.56 million in 2024.5
Sources:
- https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/dispenser-payments-and-prescription-cost-analysis/dispenser-payments-and-prescription-cost-analysis-financial-year-2023-to-2024/
- https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/621969/health-inflation-rate-uk/#:~:text=The%20inflation%20rate%20in%20the,two%20percent%20until%20May%202024.
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/306648/inflation-rate-consumer-price-index-cpi-united-kingdom-uk/#:~:text=The%20UK%20inflation%20rate%20was,11.1%20percent%20in%20October%202022.
- https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/statistics/population-projections/2014-based/pp14-corrected.pdf
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Brexit increasing the costs and negatively affecting availability.
Saw some reports recently that Rachel Reeves/Wes Streeting were considering reinstating prescription charges in England for those in the 60-65 yr age group. Nice…not
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free prescriptions should mean less people getting chronic illness as they can get meds as soon as a condition starts – therefore should be a reciprocal reduction in hospital admissions – surely a win win
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people in Scotland are getting healthier , primarily because bot so many are smokers.
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SNHS funded £16Billion. + Social care. Lets the elderly stay in their own homes for longer. Better and cheaper. Less people in residential care and hospital. Healthcare etc is not free. Scottish resources and revenues pay for it. There are more elderly as a percentage of the Scottish population.
More deaths in the UK than births. Life expectancy going down. The equal and cohesive counties live longer. Japan 85, Spain 84. Better food and life styles. UK 79, US 76. Women outlive men by an average of five years.
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As a septuagenarian loon, if I was to transition and grow a pair of paps, do you think I would get another 5 years on my life expectancy?
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O/T Thought you might like a read of this.
https://news.sky.com/story/thames-tunnel-project-delayed-after-planning-it-cost-more-than-worlds-longest-road-tunnel-13230526
But what about the Ferries.
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If you look closely at the the Sky News article, the boat in their photo is the Waverley!
Ok, I know its not a ferry 🙂
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Here’s what the Daily Express thinks of the proposal to end from prescriptions for people aged 60 to 65.
In England, the vast majority of patients pay for medication. Prices rose to £9.90 in April, a jump of 2.6 percent from 2023, when a single prescription cost £9.65.
By contrast Scottish and Welsh patients are all entitled to free prescriptions, at an estimated cost of £270m to the English taxpayer.
Remind me again, just when in Scotland did we stopped paying Tax? Even our pensions are taxed!
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The ‘Scottish’ Labour Party would agree with the Express and the cost to the English taxpayer. After all, according to Johan Lamont there is a ‘something for nothing’ society here.
Alasdair Macdonald.
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