09.10.12
Paying with their lives
Speaking at the Conservative party conference yesterday, leader of the party in Scotland Ruth Davidson called for the money spent on free prescriptions to be used on other areas of the NHS, to improve outcomes and save patients’ lives.
Her statements may challenge the perception that people in Scotland get something for free, when in fact the price for providing such a service can be felt in other, potentially more harmful, ways. There is an opportunity cost to free prescriptions, she is arguing.
Whichever treatments or services are prioritised with resources, there will always be others that suffer proportionally.
Has Scotland got the right balance of funding? Or is Davidson right, and the cost simply far too high?
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