Ooo a grey area
- 5 Oct 07, 3:26 PM
Well I have found myself in a rather odd grey situation, its all about prescriptions and disability and age and status.
I shall explain, due to my many health conditions I am on a variety of different medications, this is fine, they keep me ticking over nicely (sometimes) but soon I will be coming of age in terms of prescriptions.
Up to and including being 18 years old and still in full time education prescriptions are free, yes you heard it completely free.
But on the 31st of October (yes, Halloween) it鈥檚 my birthday, I am going to be 19 (I FEEL OLD!). So I will be obliged to pay for prescriptions.
It鈥檚 all a bit strange but basically I鈥檓 still in full time education and I have various disabilities so I approached my GP about medical exemption, meaning I don鈥檛 have to pay.
And this is when all the rules get a bit 鈥 fluffy.
In order to qualify for medical exemption because of a disability I must have:
鈥淎 continuing physical disability which means I cannot go out without the help of another person鈥︹
Now I find this a bit odd really, because I can go out on my own without the help of another person, but with a long cane. And then I cant get to my doctors surgery on my own because its not on a bus route, nor can I read the prescription form thing, so I get my dad to pick them up fill them out and then hand it in at the pharmacy.
So my GP is confused she doesn鈥檛 have a clue weather I qualify or not.
This has led to me having an interesting phone around to find out weather I count or not.
The official line from the prescription people is that when I get a guide dog that will count as 鈥渉elp from another person鈥, but while I am on the waiting list, just getting around using my long cane I don鈥檛 really qualify, the bottom line was basically 鈥渋t鈥檚 at your doctor鈥檚 discretion鈥.
My poor GP doesn鈥檛 no what to do so I have been having a phone around trying to find out more.
Also the rule seems a bit strange; lots of people I imagine are in a similarly odd situation. I鈥檓 sure lots of people find it difficult to get there prescriptions or read them, and that the vast majority of people with disabilities can make it outside the front door of there house independently, and what happens if you have a long term physical disability that means that sometimes you can go out without the help of another person but other times you cant.
I guess it鈥檚 at your doctor鈥檚 discretion
Ooo it鈥檚 all very confusing, I could probably keep coming up with more and more situations.
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Comments
I think it's open to interpretation. My GP decided that needing a wheelchair and wheelchair accessible chemists etc counted. Of course, those accessible chemists were slightly lacking where I lived at the time. And actually all he had to do was sign one form.
In the meantime you can purchase a 'season ticket' prescription waiver, which gets all your prescriptions for one fee. Your doctor r chemist should know about that. I used it to get gluten free goods, which would have been ridiculously expensive otherwise.