Prescription bill for the NHS in Scotland

Prescriptions in Scotland

Official statistics out yesterday show that the NHS in Scotland spent almost GBP£1.3 billion on prescription drugs last year.

This accounted for 14.2 percent of the health service's operating budget of GBP£9.3 billion in 2008-09 and equates to GBP£247 for every person in Scotland, the British paper The Times reports. Ross Finnie, health spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, described the figures as "truly staggering" and called on the Scottish National Party (SNP) to rethink its policy on abolishing prescription charges.

Finnie said, "These figures show the folly of the SNP's determination to press ahead with scrapping prescription charges for those who can well afford to pay. We know that the number of prescriptions dispensed is on the rise. Free prescriptions could see that number spike higher still.

"SNP ministers need to get their priorities right. Would they rather continue spending billions of pounds on scrapping prescription charges, or would they rather boost spending on improving patient care, tackling hospital infections, or increasing access to NHS dentists?"

Figures

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spent GBP£343 million on drugs last year, the highest in Scotland, while NHS Lothian was next on GBP£195 million. NHS Shetland spent just over GBP£1 million.

Overall, the NHS in Scotland spent GBP£5.4 billion on hospital services last year. This included GBP£108 million on cleaning, an increase of GBP£8.1 million, after a high profile drive to cut down on the spread of infections like Clostridium difficile.

Catering costs jumped by GBP£6.5 million to GBP£84 million, while the cost of heat and light was up by almost a quarter (22.8 percent) to GBP£87.7 million.

The average annual cost of running a single hospital operating theatre for 26 hours a week was GBP£1.4 million.

More than three million examinations for x-rays and scans were carried out at a cost of GBP£230 million. There was also GBP£315 million spent on NHS dental care provided to 3.3 million registered patients. The wage bill for staff was GBP£4.6 billion.

The NHS in Scotland employs around 158,000 people, according to the NHS.

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