Last week, Rhodri Morgan argued that free prescriptions and free school breakfasts are actually helping the Welsh economy and that was one of the main reasons behind the creation of these policies.
At times like this, you just have to stand in admiration of the First Minister’s ability to apply his immense logic to developing such an argument.
In his opinion, offering free prescriptions isn’t about improving the health service but is, instead, about supporting those whose income was just above the benefit level whilst free breakfasts in primary schools is helping working parents get to work without eroding earnings.
However, in applying this logic, he seems to have missed the real point. It is not a matter of free prescriptions or free breakfasts being made available to the neediest within Welsh society. It is the fact both are available to anyone, whether you are a prince or a pauper.
In addition, those on low incomes had already been eligible for free prescriptions before the policy was extended to everyone in Wales twelve months ago.
At a time when the funding for the Assembly Government is reducing, money which should have been spent on treating chronically ill patients and providing access to modern medicines is arguably being wasted on free prescriptions for items such as aspirin, Bonjela and athlete's foot powder.
There is only so much money that is made available for the NHS every year and if the medicine budget increases annually, then other areas of health spend will inevitably decline, with serious consequences for those who need such treatments the most.
If, given the choice, would you want the money spent on keeping local cottage hospitals open and getting more NHS dentists or subsidising the wealthy to get free medicine which they can afford to buy over the counter? Would you want your money spent on reducing waiting lists to a level that is the same as England’s or on free prescriptions to people who can afford them anyway?
Given this, is it any surprise that we have tens of thousands more patients waiting for an operation than when the Assembly was set up in 1999?
With patients across the border in England having to pay £7.10 for medicine from the NHS, it also isn’t surprising that there have been claims of so-called ‘prescription tourism’. As reported last week, it has been alleged that people use their addresses at holiday homes or caravan parks in North Wales to register with a local GP and take advantage of the situation.
If the Labour Party in Wales has made this decision on ideological grounds, then they should just say so, and many would respect that decision even if they didn’t agree with it.
If Ministers believe that free prescriptions are making a difference to the health and wellbeing of the population, then they must provide evidence that the policy is working.
However, don’t treat members of the public to ridiculous spin and arguments that the free prescriptions were set up to make a difference to the Welsh economy.
Of course, if the First Minister really wants to help the low paid within Welsh society, then instead of trying pretend that free prescriptions are helping the economy, he should call his Labour colleague Gordon Brown and advise him to restore the 10p tax rate.
That, and not free mouth ulcer gel, is what will make the difference to the pay packets of the poorest workers across the country.
At times like this, you just have to stand in admiration of the First Minister’s ability to apply his immense logic to developing such an argument.
In his opinion, offering free prescriptions isn’t about improving the health service but is, instead, about supporting those whose income was just above the benefit level whilst free breakfasts in primary schools is helping working parents get to work without eroding earnings.
However, in applying this logic, he seems to have missed the real point. It is not a matter of free prescriptions or free breakfasts being made available to the neediest within Welsh society. It is the fact both are available to anyone, whether you are a prince or a pauper.
In addition, those on low incomes had already been eligible for free prescriptions before the policy was extended to everyone in Wales twelve months ago.
At a time when the funding for the Assembly Government is reducing, money which should have been spent on treating chronically ill patients and providing access to modern medicines is arguably being wasted on free prescriptions for items such as aspirin, Bonjela and athlete's foot powder.
There is only so much money that is made available for the NHS every year and if the medicine budget increases annually, then other areas of health spend will inevitably decline, with serious consequences for those who need such treatments the most.
If, given the choice, would you want the money spent on keeping local cottage hospitals open and getting more NHS dentists or subsidising the wealthy to get free medicine which they can afford to buy over the counter? Would you want your money spent on reducing waiting lists to a level that is the same as England’s or on free prescriptions to people who can afford them anyway?
Given this, is it any surprise that we have tens of thousands more patients waiting for an operation than when the Assembly was set up in 1999?
With patients across the border in England having to pay £7.10 for medicine from the NHS, it also isn’t surprising that there have been claims of so-called ‘prescription tourism’. As reported last week, it has been alleged that people use their addresses at holiday homes or caravan parks in North Wales to register with a local GP and take advantage of the situation.
If the Labour Party in Wales has made this decision on ideological grounds, then they should just say so, and many would respect that decision even if they didn’t agree with it.
If Ministers believe that free prescriptions are making a difference to the health and wellbeing of the population, then they must provide evidence that the policy is working.
However, don’t treat members of the public to ridiculous spin and arguments that the free prescriptions were set up to make a difference to the Welsh economy.
Of course, if the First Minister really wants to help the low paid within Welsh society, then instead of trying pretend that free prescriptions are helping the economy, he should call his Labour colleague Gordon Brown and advise him to restore the 10p tax rate.
That, and not free mouth ulcer gel, is what will make the difference to the pay packets of the poorest workers across the country.
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