Drugs payment scheme compares favourably

IN his letter (October 1), Peadar Ó Laoire complains that the Drugs Payment Scheme monthly maximum fee may rise to €105 in the upcoming budget and contrasts this with the situation in the North where the prescription fee is to be scrapped.

However, in Britain, to control their drugs budget they have something called the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) which means that if patients want to access a lot of potentially useful interventions, they have to pay the full price themselves.

Given that some drugs can cost hundreds of pounds per week, this puts many treatments out of the reach of most people (including some for cancer).

In the US, which has a different system again, a large percentage of patients on medication pay a lot more than €105 per month. The Irish system, even if there was to be such an increase, seems preferable to me.

Tom Kindlon

12 Beechpark Lawn

Castleknock

Dublin 15