ROUTINE prescriptions for "minor, short-term" ailments such as indigestion, heartburn, travel sickness, dandruff, mouth ulcers and hayfever are to be "significantly" reduced for patients across Morecambe Bay.
The Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group is to follow new guidance from NHS England which aims to free up almost £100 million yearly for frontline care nationwide.
Every year the NHS in Morecambe Bay spends £111,000 on prescribing over-the-counter medicines for acute pain and headaches, £42,000 for hayfever and £10,000 for diarrhoea.
Dr Geoff Jolliffe, Barrow GP and clinical chair for Morecambe Bay CCG, said: "It is not a good use of our resources to issue prescriptions for products which are not clinically effective, or for conditions that will get better without treatment or whose symptoms can be managed with self-care.
"As we have limited resources, we need to ensure patients get the best possible care against a backdrop of increasing demands, competing priorities and limited financial resources
“We realise it may be difficult for some patients who have previously been prescribed these products, but it is right that we prioritise our spending on those that provide the best outcomes for patients."
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