Web-economic-crisis-health-systems-and-health-web

Country profiles of health system responses to the crisis | United Kingdom
513
User charges
England
• England abandoned a policy to expand the list of chronic conditions
exempt from user charges for prescription drugs (the list has not been
updated since the 1960s).
Northern Ireland
• User charges for prescription drugs abolished (2010).
Scotland
• The Scottish Government reaffirmed its commitment to providing universal
access in spite of recommendations from an Independent Budget Review
Panel to reconsider the case for free or universal subsidized services such as
free personal and nursing care and free prescriptions (2010). The process of
phasing out user charges for prescription drugs was completed in 2011.
Changes to health service planning, purchasing and delivery
Prices of medical goods
• Pharmaceutical products included in broader reforms to NHS
procurement (2012).
Salaries and motivation of health sector workers
England and Northern Ireland
• Imposition of a two-year (2011–2012 and 2012–2013) public sector pay
freeze, to be followed by a further cap of 1% per year (for 2014–2015).
• Overall reduction in full-time equivalent NHS staffing levels in England
of 2.8% (2010–2012) mainly affecting managerial staff (18% reduction).
Scotland
• A pay freeze for staff earning more than £21 000 in 2011–2012 and
2012–2013.
• A 1% cap on basic pay increases for staff earning less than £80 000, with
no increase for those above this level (2013 and 2014).
• No compulsory redundancies but increased use of voluntary severance
packages (2011 and 2012).
Wales
• No increases in most public health sector staff salaries (2011).
• Reductions in employers' pension contributions.
• Reduction in the total number of health service staff by just under 1%
(2010 and 2011).