Half of England’s adults say NHS spends too little on drugs

Medicines account for 10p of every £1 spent by NHS, says ABPI

A new survey sponsored by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has revealed that 52% of English adults believe that not enough of the NHS budget is being spent on medicine.

The ComRes poll of more than 1,700 adults found that 60% of people aged 55 and above believe that the current spend on medicines of 10p in every £1 spent by the NHS was not enough, compared with 40% of adults aged 18 to 24.

Opinion appeared to be divided across the sexes, with 57% of women and 47% of men believing not enough is spent on medicines compared to NHS spending on hospitals, staff and equipment.

The results were published as the political party conference season continues, with major parties citing the NHS as a priority for the next Parliament.

The ABPI survey found that 90% of participants believe that the Government should do more to ensure that people across the UK can access the latest medicines when they have a serious or life threatening diseases.

A third (32%) of those polled say that a political promise to spend more on new medicines would more than likely sway their vote.

Commenting on the publication of the survey, ABPI chief executive Stephen Whitehead said: “With the public united in the belief that access to the latest medicines would be a top priority if they had a serious illness and the overwhelming importance of equality of access to medicines, especially for the sickest of patients, it goes to show how passionately the public cares about medicines and access to them.

“It is a testament to the strength of feeling that a third of adults in England would be more likely to vote for a party that promised to invest more in this vital area and supports the industry’s calls for government to increase access to medicines.”

At their party conferences, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats have offered NHS funding increases of more than £1bn, while the Conservatives have said that they will protect the NHS budget in real terms until 2020.

Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/half_of_englands_adults_believe_nhs_spends_too_little_on_medicines_604650

Half of England’s adults say NHS spends too little on drugs