Holiday makers in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who suffer with travel sickness are being urged to buy their own medication as the cost to the local NHS is revealed.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG spent more than £72,000 last year, prescribing travel sickness medication to patients in the county.
The CG said that the medications can all be bought from a pharmacy for as little as £3 for 12 tablets - the equivalent cost to the NHS to prescribe 12 tablets, along with a GP appointment is £46.
Sati Ubhi, associate director of medicines optimisation at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG said, “We completely understand how miserable travel sickness can be for you and your family. But before setting off on holiday we really want you to think about whether travel sickness medication is something you can buy yourself from a pharmacy instead of getting it on prescription.”
Those entitled to free prescriptions include people over 60 or under 16, women who are pregnant or who have had a baby in the last 12 months, patients who have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate.
Dr Ubhi added: “It’s possible that some people can afford to buy their own non-prescription medicines and do not realise the cost to the NHS from having them on prescription.”
The £46 the NHS spends on a prescription includes the GP consultation time, the cost of the medication and the dispensing fee.
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