Wales is free as prescriptions rise

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The Department of Health, which said the health service will get about £430 million from prescriptions in 2006/07, has no plans to abolish charges.

In Wales the price was frozen at £6 in 2001 and has been falling gradually since 2004 as part of a Welsh Labour manifesto commitment.

The arrival of free prescriptions provides a welcome boost for Wales's First Minister Rhodri Morgan ahead of Assembly elections on May 3.

He said: "Devolution enables Wales to come up with Welsh solutions to Welsh circumstances. Wales, due to its industrial past, has a legacy of ill-health, especially of chronic conditions."

The abolition and the ban on smoking in public places, to be introduced in Wales on Monday, represented the "biggest move in decades" to improve public health, he said.

Patients Association spokeswoman Katherine Murphy said: "It's a National Health Service - then it should be prescriptions for free the other side of the Severn Bridge if it's going to be free in Wales.

"Charges went up in England this year and that can put people off because £6.85 is a lot of money for some people. I think the Assembly members have done very well, to be quite honest."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "We have no plans to abolish prescription charges. This is a devolved matter and the level of the charge in Wales is a decision for the National Assembly for Wales."

Exemption arrangements meant 87% of prescriptions were dispensed without charge, she said. In Scotland, where the 20p rise also kicks in, there is a review of the system under way. About half of people north of the border are already exempt from paying. Northern Ireland will also be hit by the 20p rise.