Kidney Care UK have campaigned for many years for a fairer system of prescription charging. We believe that people with a diagnosis of advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) should not have to pay for prescriptions. Everyone should be able to access the medicines they need to stay well for free, without worrying about whether or not they can afford it.

Working with our fellow kidney charities Kidney Research UK and the National Kidney Federation, we are carrying out a survey to learn more about whether people on different treatments for their kidney disease pay for their prescription medicines.

We are looking closely at whether people on dialysis are paying for prescriptions, because the wording of the current criteria leaves room for different interpretations of whether a permanent fistula for dialysis leads to exemption.

Prescription charges for kidney patients in the UK

• In Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, everyone who is registered with a GP is entitled to free prescriptions.
  
• In England, unless you are exempt from prescription charges, you need to pay a fee for each of your prescription items. This is currently £9.90. Many people with kidney disease in England decide to purchase an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate, which covers all NHS prescriptions for a set price.

Kidney Care UK are long-standing members of the Prescription Charges Coalition because we think the system is unfair and outdated.

Completing our survey will help us build a picture of what people with kidney disease in England are paying for their prescriptions and plan the next stage of our campaign for a fairer prescription charging system.