An unnamed patient from Leamington Spa was issued with an £124 fine by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). This occurred despite first being misinformed that they were exempt from prescription charges altogether. That’s what makes this tragic incident so shocking; this isn’t a cut and dry process surrounding prescription exemptions or penalties for non-payment.
We successfully treated the patient with post-operative antibiotics for her infection. At the time of pick-up, they attested to their exempt status from fees. But lo and behold, just two weeks later they were told by the NHSBSA that they were in fact liable for the charges. This reversal resulted in a fine of five times the prescription fee being levied.
The NHSBSA are the body responsible for enforcing patient exemptions on behalf of the NHS and investigating non-payment. They are allowed to fine people who don’t pay their prescription fees. The patient was then issued a penalty charge notice for non-payment on the day she collected her prescription. They were then blamed for the cost.
When she returned to pick up her next prescription, she found out that the mistake had been made about her exemption status. The dramatic reversal should raise voice alarm and seismic shock bells. The NHSBSA has been pursuing and fining a rising number of people for not paying, and critics have dubbed this a scandal. News has come out of pregnant people, including one woman who lost her baby, receiving penalty charges for allegedly fraudulently claiming free prescriptions.
To set the record straight, the patient moved quickly to protect herself. Importantly, they resolved these issues before the NHSBSA even had to send an inquiry letter. It was their speedy response that resulted in a favorable review of their case.
“Following investigation, we recognise that, in this case, the patient realised the error and acted quickly to correct the issue before receiving an inquiry letter from the NHSBSA. We have therefore been able to close the case and remove the penalty charge in this instance,” – NHSBSA
Therefore, this resolution is a huge relief for the patient. Instead of focusing on their studies, they faced undue stress from conflicting messages about whether they were exempt. It begs the additional question of how such disparities happen in the first place and how to ensure they don’t happen in future contexts.