Derry man raises concerns over impact of new prescription delivery charges on disabled, elderly

Derry Journal

A Derry man has urged Health Minister Mike Nesbitt to intervene over the impact rising prescription medication delivery charges are having on disabled and vulnerable people. Marshall Blackthorn (33) from Templemore Crescent in Derry said he was shocked to receive a letter from his local pharmacy announcing that from this month it will cost £72 per annum per person to deliver prescriptions to, or £5 per day.  Wheelchair user Mr Blackthorn said he feared what impact this will have on disabled and house-bound people, the elderly, those living with Alzheimer's or dementia and other people who do not have the option of visiting a chemist in person to collect their prescriptions.  It is understood many chemists across the north which initially offered free delivery have been introducing fees over recent months, with some charging per year and others per delivery, or a combination of both.

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00:00Marshall, if I could just ask you, if you had a message now for the Department of Health

00:03and the Western Trust, what would it be around these charges?

00:07I would ask them to look at themselves and look at the community and actually see what's needed.

00:13This service used to be free. People rely on the medication. It's already difficult when you have

00:19an ailment or you're old or you're disabled like myself. We need the medication to have a quality

00:25of life. Without that medication, we're not able to get up in the morning. We're not able to function

00:31properly. Like myself, I have cars. I come in twice a day, every day. Am I going to have to start paying

00:37for that as well? Where does the line stop? When are they going to actually look after their own

00:42people? We need this service. It's not a luxury item. It's not a Chinese. It's not a holiday.

00:48It's what we need to survive. So it's his job to support us. So I'd like to see him do that.

00:58And there'd be fears too that this could be... This could be the start. It's £72 a year now. That's

01:03the starting price. Where does it end? How much is it going to go up by? Is it going to go up with

01:08inflation? The cost of shopping's already doubled. So I just think it's gone mad that we've got no

01:15warning about this. We were told it's happening this month. We've no choice about the matter.

01:22It's been... It's happening this month. It's been implemented. And you either pay it or you have

01:27to collect it yourself. But if I'm house found or my chair is broken, how am I meant to get my medication?

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