A BLANKET charge of £1 per prescription could strike the balance between patients being able to afford drugs and cutting down on medicinal waste.

That is according to senior academics at Reading University, who have begun to research whether reducing the number of people entitled to free medication and slashing charges from £8.05 to £1 will solve the national row over prescription charges.

Patients in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all get their prescriptions for free, and a growing number of campaigners are calling for the fees to be abolished in England.

Dr Parastou Donyai, director of the university’s Pharmacy Practice, said a blanket £1 charge could be a “symbolic” answer to a difficult problem. She added: “This is not the first time that doctors have asked for prescription charges to be abolished in England.

“We are keen to explore if a nominal payment of £1 for all prescriptions may strike the right balance.”

Department of Health (DoH) figures estimate around 90% of drugs dispensed through pharmacies in England are free, and people living with cancer or diabetes are just some of the patients entitled to free prescriptions.

But while the Royal Pharmaceutical Society believes the charge deters some patients on low incomes from taking their medication, it is estimated that the fees raise around £450m for the NHS each year.

Dr Donyai stressed that medical waste costs the NHS an estimated £300m each year, and believes a small charge on medication will stop patients from hoarding left-over drugs.

She added: “Others claim that a free system promotes over-ordering and medicines waste.

“This is due to a whole range of factors that include patient motivations, practical difficulties, treatment related effects or system failures.”