Prescription charges for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients
Everyone who is registered with a GP in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales is entitled to free prescriptions.
The following guidance refers only to people who live in England.
Some people with CKD will be entitled to free prescriptions because of the type of disease or treatment they have or because of their age, another condition or if they receive particular benefits.
Please note that everyone aged 60 or over is entitled to free prescriptions.
If you live in England, the short answer is no: CKD is not listed as a prescription exemption condition.
There are a number of conditions that are exempt from prescription charges (for example, diabetes and epilepsy). So if you also have these conditions, you will be exempt but unfortunately living with CKD does not entitle you to free prescriptions.
At Kidney Care UK we think that this is unfair and we would like to see the exemptions criteria reviewed because it has remained the same for over 60 years.
You may be, but this is open to interpretation.
Patients living with certain medical conditions can apply for a medical exemption certificate and receive free NHS prescriptions in England. Your healthcare team will need to complete a Medical Exemption (FP92A) form to verify that you have a condition that entitles you to free NHS prescriptions.
Your GP or kidney doctor may sign your exemption form because if you have a permanent fistula that ‘requires an appliance or surgical dressing’ then you can be exempt from charges but NHS guidance on this even states that ‘whether or not you have a permanent fistula that requires an appliance or surgical dressing is a matter for your doctor's clinical judgement’.
Therefore this is open to interpretation and we have heard from some people whose GP will sign the form and others whose GP won’t. We don’t think this postcode lottery is fair.
Peritoneal dialysis patients do not have a fistula so the above criteria will not apply, although your GP may still sign the exemption. However, as with people on haemodialysis, this may vary depending on where you live and the views of your medical team. This means that if you do PD and live in England then no, you are not exempt and will have to pay unless you have another condition that allows you to be exempt.
No, transplant patients in England are not entitled to free prescriptions.
Even if you you received free prescriptions as a haemodialysis patient, once you have had a transplant – when your medication consumption will increase dramatically in order to stop your body from rejecting your transplanted organ – you will no longer be exempt. At the time when a person possibly needs it the most, this support is taken away.
We think this is incredibly unfair and believe that anyone who has had a transplant should be exempt, as a transplant is not a cure, and you still have CKD even after having a transplant.
An NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate covers all your NHS prescriptions for a set price. You will save money if you need more than three items in three months, or 11 items in 12 months.
The prescription charge in England is £9.90 per item from 1 May 2024.
An NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate costs:
£32.05 for 3 months
£114.50 for 12 months
Many kidney patients decide to purchase an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate, which covers all your NHS prescriptions for a set price, but tell us they feel discriminated against and how unfair the system is.
We agree. We think the current system is particularly unfair for kidney patients, many of whom need to take medication for the rest of their lives, just to stay alive.
We’re calling on the government to review and reform this unjust and outdated system to make prescriptions free for everyone living with a long-term condition in England, as they are in other parts of the United Kingdom.