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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Free prescription end 'nonsense' | Free prescription end 'nonsense' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A newspaper's claim that free NHS prescriptions could end in Wales has been dismissed as "absolute nonsense". | A newspaper's claim that free NHS prescriptions could end in Wales has been dismissed as "absolute nonsense". |
| The Welsh Assembly Government has rejected the report in the News of the World that free prescriptions could be stopped because of their cost. | The Welsh Assembly Government has rejected the report in the News of the World that free prescriptions could be stopped because of their cost. |
| Charges were scrapped in Wales in 2007, Northern Ireland will follow in 2010 and Scotland in 2011. In England fees will end next year for cancer patients. | |
| Welsh Tories said the assembly government had to give "clear answers". | Welsh Tories said the assembly government had to give "clear answers". |
| The News of the World claimed that the policy had cost "far more than the anticipated £300m" and led to doctors "dishing out prescriptions for normal over-the-counter products such as vaseline, milk of magnesia and aspirin". | The News of the World claimed that the policy had cost "far more than the anticipated £300m" and led to doctors "dishing out prescriptions for normal over-the-counter products such as vaseline, milk of magnesia and aspirin". |
| We told the newspaper on Friday that we have no intention of 'pulling the plug' on our free prescription scheme... we're at a loss to understand where this story has come from Welsh Assembly Government The Sunday tabloid also claimed that "thousands of English people have also taken advantage of the scheme by registering with Welsh doctors," with figures showing there were "100,000 more people on Welsh GPs' lists than actually lived in the country". | We told the newspaper on Friday that we have no intention of 'pulling the plug' on our free prescription scheme... we're at a loss to understand where this story has come from Welsh Assembly Government The Sunday tabloid also claimed that "thousands of English people have also taken advantage of the scheme by registering with Welsh doctors," with figures showing there were "100,000 more people on Welsh GPs' lists than actually lived in the country". |
| The newspaper quoted what it called a senior Whitehall source saying: "In Wales they are running out of money for this and can't continue. | The newspaper quoted what it called a senior Whitehall source saying: "In Wales they are running out of money for this and can't continue. |
| "They are going to have to pull the plug on it. It's the last thing anyone wants to do but the financial realities are so serious that they're having to consider it." | "They are going to have to pull the plug on it. It's the last thing anyone wants to do but the financial realities are so serious that they're having to consider it." |
| 'Highly popular' | 'Highly popular' |
| The report prompted Welsh Tory health spokesman Jonathan Morgan to claim: "This news destroys the Welsh Assembly Government's remaining fragments of credibility over health policy. | The report prompted Welsh Tory health spokesman Jonathan Morgan to claim: "This news destroys the Welsh Assembly Government's remaining fragments of credibility over health policy. |
| "Ministers in Cardiff must now give clear answers as to the future of this initiative. We have always said subsidising millionaires at the expense of people with long-term health conditions was not a viable or just option." | "Ministers in Cardiff must now give clear answers as to the future of this initiative. We have always said subsidising millionaires at the expense of people with long-term health conditions was not a viable or just option." |
| But an assembly government spokesperson said: "The story in today's News of the World is absolute nonsense. | But an assembly government spokesperson said: "The story in today's News of the World is absolute nonsense. |
| "We told the newspaper on Friday that we have no intention of 'pulling the plug' on our free prescription scheme, which is highly popular, and we're delighted that Scotland and Northern Ireland are following our lead. | "We told the newspaper on Friday that we have no intention of 'pulling the plug' on our free prescription scheme, which is highly popular, and we're delighted that Scotland and Northern Ireland are following our lead. |
| "We're at a loss to understand where this story has come from." | "We're at a loss to understand where this story has come from." |
| Last month, figures showed that the number of prescription items in Wales rose by 2.9m, or 5% in the first year of free prescriptions. | Last month, figures showed that the number of prescription items in Wales rose by 2.9m, or 5% in the first year of free prescriptions. |
| The increase from 59.1m in 2006/7 to 62m in 2007/8, equivalent to 20 items per person, was attributed by officials to a rise in preventative work and more cancer drugs prescribed. | The increase from 59.1m in 2006/7 to 62m in 2007/8, equivalent to 20 items per person, was attributed by officials to a rise in preventative work and more cancer drugs prescribed. |