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Paracetamol on prescription

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Katek Tue 09-Feb-16 10:52:28

One of my Sils works as a doctors receptionist and always complains about people getting OTC drugs on prescription. Her argument is that paracetamol can cost as little as 19p a packet so people should simply buy it. That's fine if you use it occasionally for a headache, but if the GP has prescribed it for regular pain relief then surely it's acceptable to obtain these drugs on prescription. There are quite a few medications available otc-particularly digestive aids-should we buy these (if we can afford to) in order to save NHS money? Or is it a question of frequency/dosage/amount that is the decider?

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Lesley1 Thu 11-Feb-16 17:16:48

We pay for our prescriptions so if our doctor suggested we take paracetamol or other pills we can buy in the supermarket or chemist then I'd buy them rather than pay for a prescription especially when it costs a lot less than the prescription. I think even if we got prescriptions free I would still buy my own paracetamol and co-codamol as they're cheap enough anyway.

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thatbags Thu 11-Feb-16 18:18:48

Higher dose co-codamol has to be prescribed.

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Luckygirl Thu 11-Feb-16 19:06:18

Just been watching the recording of Behind Closed Doors (fly-on-the-wall at a GP surgery) and an elderly gentleman was taking co-codamol and, as it wasn't curing the pain, he was taking paracetamol as well. GP had to explain to him that he must not do that. He obviously thought that an OTC drug added in was benign.

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milkflake Fri 12-Feb-16 11:22:29

Its not the cost that is the problem . For some people who can't get out easily the problem is the amount you can buy in one purchase. If you are taking the max 8 tabs a day then you only get 4 days supply.

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