East Belfast Conservative PPC, Neil Wilson, has questioned the Executive’s priorities, after health minister, Jim Wells, suggested that prescription charges could be reintroduced, to pay for a ‘specialist drug fund’.
“Jim Wells wants to raise £60 million to pay for specialist cancer drugs, by reintroducing prescription charges, which will be particularly punishing for people with long-term illnesses”, Neil explained. “At the same time the Executive has supposedly set aside over half a billion to top up benefits payments, so that claimants here can get more than their counterparts in the rest of the UK, and those who give false information to the authorities get less stiff penalties. You really have to wonder about the Stormont parties’ priorities and the cack-handed way they organise their finances, because this is another measure which sounds like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Why not set aside a little of that £560 million to pay for the drugs fund?”
“In the last Autumn Statement, the Conservative chancellor provided an extra £79 million for Stormont to spend on health, based on the Barnett Formula, which the Executive proceeded to spend on areas other than health. Again, some of this sum could have been used to pay for expensive or unlicensed cancer drugs. To put it into context, the minister hopes to raise between £5 million and £10 million by bringing back prescription charges. Surely it’s about time that the Executive started targeting waste effectively and protecting people who are genuinely vulnerable, like those with long-term illnesses, rather than pouring money into keeping people jobless and welfare dependent? With some proper leadership there should be no need to re-introduce prescription charges in order to create the drugs fund.”