Ten years of free prescriptions for all in Wales is a “long-term investment” in people’s Health Swansea East AM, Mike Hedges says

Ten years of free prescriptions for all in Wales is a “long-term investment” in people’s Health Swansea East AM, Mike Hedges says
Mike Hedges AM said since April 2007 it had kept people out of hospital and cut overall NHS costs.
Mr Hedges said free prescriptions were “progressive and an integral part of our health services in Wales”.
“It should never be the case that people with serious chronic conditions cannot afford to collect their prescription,” he said.
“Ensuring patients have the medication they need not only improves their own health and wellbeing, it also benefits the health service as a whole by reducing hospital attendance and placing fewer demands on general practitioners.”
‘A recent study of adult patients in England showed an increase in severe asthma attacks and an increase in hospital admissions for people with Asthma. When the figures were investigated, it was found that a significant factor was people unable to afford their asthmas prescriptions, which in England are now over £8 and therefore not having the inhalers which would have prevented or dealt with the attack once underway. Thank god my constituents do not have to face the dilemma of how to pay for medication.’
The Welsh Government said the £593m cost of free prescriptions in 2015 was only £3m more than the bill in 2007.