NHS spends £87million on paracetamol tablets which can be bought 20 times cheaper elsewhere
The average cost of NHS paracetamol prescription last year was £3.83 while supermarkets sell the drug for as little as 19p
THE NHS spent £87.6million last year on paracetamol tablets which can be bought 20 times cheaper in the supermarket.
Doctors wrote 22.9million prescriptions for the painkiller at an average cost of £3.83.
But a packet of 16 tablets from Asda costs 19p.
NHS spending on paracetamol has increased by 200 per cent in a decade.
The £87.6million could buy 461million supermarket packs, enough for eight boxes for every Brit.
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Figures show a similar pattern with ibuprofen.
GPs gave out 7.3million scripts for the anti-inflammatory in 2015 at £3.74 each time, compared with 25p on the high street.
Prescriptions for paracetamol, ibuprofen, aspirin and codeine phosphate cost the NHS £161.5million last year.
It would pay for 19,000 heart bypass ops.
Some areas are trying to cut the bill.
In North Norfolk GPs are told not to prescribe painkillers for colds and flu.
And East Yorkshire has introduced a “buy your own” policy after a survey showed patient support.
Harry Davis, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “There can be no justification for paying out on items priced at 20 times the supermarket value.”
The Department of Health said prescribed packs contain many more pills than the 16 in supermarket packs.
A spokesman added: “Where doctors prescribe paracetamol we expect that to happen for good clinical reasons.”