Motion 45
Controlling the Cost of Prescriptions
“That this Congress notes the financial pressures on the NHS and Health and Social Care Partnerships. Amongst these pressures is the cost of prescribed medicines. South Lanarkshire H&SCP’s Integrated Joint Board reported an overspend for 2022/23 of £3.750m within a projected overall budget for 2023/24 of £70.5m.
“Congress welcomes projects that look to reduce the prescription of medicines that are of little benefit to patients and, in consultation with patients, switch to cheaper generic medicines rather than more expensive branded medicines.
“However, Congress also recognises that the price of medicines has continued to rise and that the profit margins of the big pharmaceutical companies has made them amongst the most profitable companies in the world. Their business models have been financialised so that they are less about providing medical advances for the benefit of patients and more about rewarding shareholders, often through the abuse of their monopoly position in the global market, whilst continuing to utilise public funding for research and development and the purchasing of their patented drugs.
“Congress calls on the General Council to continue to support the Scottish Government free prescription policy and lobby the Scottish Government to:
- invest in pharmacy teams to maximise the benefits from reviewing the use of generic rather than branded medicines;
- support changing the relationship between publicly funded R&D and the patenting of new drugs by private companies; and
- collaborate with other nations to develop a global shift in the priorities of the pharmaceutical industry towards public good rather than private profit, including the public ownership of pharmaceutical production and distribution.”
Mover: East Kilbride & South Lanarkshire Trades Union Council
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