East Lancashire has seen some of the highest number of fines issued to people who have avoided paying for their prescriptions.
People living in Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale have dodged prescription fees to the tune of more than £107,000.
Research carried out by From Mars, a men's healthcare website, looked at data from the NHS Business Authority on which local authorities have the most PCN fines issued to people for not paying their prescription charges and receive the most fines in return, ie, the most PCN fines per head.
The local authority with the highest number of PCNs issued for failure to pay for prescriptions, with 35.59 issued per 10,000 people is Blackburn with Darwen. This equates to a total of 534 fines with a total value of £45,970.
Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle and Rossendale all feature in the top 20 list, and combined have declined to pay a whopping £107,564 in prescription costs.
The Ribble Valley comes in at 96th on the list with 18.38 PCNs issued per 10,000 people, equating to 110 fines with a total value of £9,718.
Getting your prescriptions is a relatively straightforward process in this country. You see a doctor, they assess your health, and you’re given the appropriate prescription to take to a pharmacy.
Thankfully, the cost of prescriptions here in the UK is regulated, so everyone pays the same amount for their medication if they get it on the NHS.
This regulation prevents discrimination based on health issues, however, some people may struggle to pay for their prescriptions, or avoid the cost altogether by simply refusing to pay.
On average, prescriptions have risen by around £1.70 since 2012, but still, some people are avoiding paying what they owe.
The following list shows the Lancashire local authorities with most PCN fines per head by rank, location, number of PCN fines, value of PCN fines, fines per 10,000 people:
1; Blackburn with Darwen; 534; £45,970; 35.59
4; Blackpool; 457; £40,472; 33.02
8; Hyndburn; 251; £20,327; 30.94
11; Burnley; 258; £22,232; 28.88
16; Preston; 401; £32,460; 27.82
19, Rossendale, 187, £17,174; 26.18
Top 10 UK local authorities with the most fines per head by rank, location, number of PCN fines, value of PCN fines, fines per 10,000 people are:
1. Blackburn with Darwen; 150,030; 534; £45,970; 35.59
2. Oldham; 237,628; 819; £72,198; 34.47
3. Knowsley; 152,452; 504; £45,325; 33.06
4. Blackpool; 138,381; 457; £40,472; 33.02
5. Tameside; 227,117; 727; £67,972; 32.01
6. Manchester; 555,741; 1,757; £159,561; 31.62
7. Middlesbrough; 141,285; 445; £40,352; 31.50
8. Hyndburn; 81,133; 251; £20,327; 30.94
9. Salford; 262,697; 784; £70,261; 29.84
10. Rochdale; 223,659; 659; £60,078; 29.46
The research also revealed:
• The combined worth of all PCN fines issued to locations in Lancashire is more than £160,000.
• Birmingham is named as the UK location with the highest value of PCN fines issued - exceeding £252,000.
• On average, the cost of an NHS prescription has risen 2.54 per cent each year.
For the full research head to Frommars.com
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