Chemists could reportedly save NHS ￡1.4bn per year (Image: Getty)

       Many prescription-only medicines are now available either as pharmacy-only or over the counter at a chemists, where the proprietor is also on hand to give out advice.

       Simply switching five per cent of all prescribed medicines to OTC would save the NHS ￡1.38billion that it currently spends on prescription and GP appointment costs, it was said.

       Analysts Frontier Economics produced the report for the consumer healthcare association PAGB.

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       Switching five per cent of all prescribed medicines to OTC would save the NHS ￡1.38billion (Image: Getty)

       The study, entitled The Economic Impact of Over the Counter Medicines in the UK, said patients could easily get the same pills, creams, gels and other treatments off the shelves rather than having to book and then wait for a doctor’s appointment.

       And the more medicines that switch from prescription-only to pharmacy and OTC, the more the NHS would save at a time when it is facing a financial crisis throughout the system, it was said.

       The report estimates that, based on the pharmaceutical markets in other countries, around 10 per cent of prescription-only treatments in the UK could be reclassified.

       Michelle Riddalls, chief executive of PAGB, said: “To put that figure of ￡1.4billion into perspective, this would cover the entire budget of a large NHS hospital for a year, and still leave ￡383million over to train or recruit hundreds of urgently needed doctors and nurses.”

       At themoment, the medicines which have already switched include treatments for hayfever, muscle and joint pain, thrush, diarrhoea, heartburn and alopecia.

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       Ms Riddalls added: “Some reclassified medicines are now so widely used many consumers do not realise they were once available on prescription only.

       “Another big benefit of reclassifying prescription-only medicines is that these switches allow consumers to access effective self-care medicines for conditions they may find difficult to discuss with their GP.

       “Reclassifying prescription medicines and encouraging the wider use of OTC therapies will help to address these gaps in treatment and improve health outcomes.”

       Medicines can only be switched to OTC after a rigorous review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, but the PAGB is calling for the Government to streamline the process to make it quicker.

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