THE move by Health Minister Michael McGimpsey to totally abolish prescription charges in Northern Ireland in 18 months will receive a universal welcome from citizens across the Province.
Anything which lessens the burdens for people affected by ill-health is a positive step and the end of the prescription era which dates back to the introduction of the National Health Service in the late 1940s marks a significant watershed in the soc
ial structure of the nation.
Many folk will argue that abolition of prescription charges should have happened years ago, but once it was announced that cancer patients in England would no longer have to pay, it was inevitable that a gesture had to be made here matching the abolition in Wales and the phasing out of payment in Scotland by 2011.
Mr McGimpsey has ordered that prepayment certificates for prescriptions will be considerably reduced and, by April 2010, it will be, as the Minister points out, "a cradle-to-the-grave" health service, completely free at the point of delivery.
"This is an historic day for the health service in Northern Ireland. It is testament to what is achieved by a local administration responding to local needs," he said.
Happily, for the Northern Ireland taxpayer, the £13 million needed to fund the loss of prescription money will be found from the existing health department budget.
The prescription proposals have still to get official approval from the Assembly Executive, which has not met since June.
For such a populist measure, there should be unanimity in getting the nod, but in the present impasse at Stormont nothing can be taken for granted.
The full article contains 277 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
