§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the present membership and qualifications of the committee which decides exemptions from prescription charges for chronic diseases; how often the committee meets; when was the last meeting; and what is the date of the next one;
(2) what criteria are used to decide which chronic diseases may be exempt from prescription charges; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. VaughanDecisions as to which medical conditions should be in the prescription charge exemption arrangements are not taken by a committee. The list of specified medical conditions was drawn up with the co-operation of the medical profession and includes only readily identifiable conditions which call automatically for prolonged continuous medication.
These arrangements are kept under constant review and, as a result of representations made by various groups to have other conditions added to the list, we considered whether an approach should be made to the medical profession. However, with the overall needs of the NHS in mind, we decided, reluctantly, not to proceed since any addition to the list would have had to include a number of conditions and the cost would have been considerable.
It was because it was recognised that many conditions which might require frequent prescriptions were not included in the "specified" list that the prepayment certificate—"season tickets"—arrangements were introduced. The other exemption categories also assist many people who have frequent prescription needs.