Qualifying for Viagra treatment on the NHS
According to the NHS, not every man suffering from erectile dysfunction is eligible for treatment with Viagra tablets. Viagra tablets are only available to those men whose erectile dysfunction was caused by a number of specified medical conditions.
The medical conditions specified by the NHS include the following:
• diabetes
• kidney transplant
• multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson’s disease
• kidney failure requiring dialysis
• prostate cancer
• removal of the prostate gland (prostatectomy, including men who have had a transurethral resection of the prostate)
• polio
• radical pelvic surgery
• single-gene neurological conditions
• spina bifida
• severe pelvic injury
• spinal cord injury
Also, anyone whose ED is judged to cause him severe distress is qualified to receive treatment on the NHS – though this would have to be evaluated by a specialist.
Patients who have already been receiving NHS treatment for erectile dysfunction on 14 September 1998 will be able to receive Viagra tablets on the NHS.
The other men who are not on NHS treatment for their erectile dysfunction, however, will have to get a private prescription from their GP before they be eligible to get Viagra tablets.
Do I need to pay for Viagra prescription at the NHS?
If you are eligible for NHS Viagra treatment, you will still have to pay a prescription fee for the drug if prescribed by the NHS. However, you have an exemption from paying if you fall under any of the following groups:
• people who are 60 or above
• people who are on, or their partners are on, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income support, pension credit guarantee credit, or tax credits if the total income of their family is less than £15,050.
• people who are suffering from a continuing physical disability that makes them unable to go out without depending on other people for help.
• people whose conditions make them exempt from charges, e.g., diabetes that necessitates medication, epilepsy that involves continuous treatment, myasthenia gravis, an underactive thyroid, parathyroid or pituitary gland, or a permanent fistula that requires constant covering or an appliance.
• Also, people who are receiving treatment for cancer are to be exempted from prescription fees from 1st April 2009.
Good advice
Men who have ailments that are exempt from charges should use the form, available from their GPs, hospitals or health authority, to apply for an exemption certificate.
If you need to pay prescription fees and need regular prescription of Viagra or other items, it is possible for you to save money with a pre-payment certificate, available for 3 month (£28.25) and 12 month (£104) periods.
You can pay for the 12 month certificate with the monthly direct debit. A 12 month pre-payment certificate will save money for anyone who needs more than 14 prescription items a year.
The NHS Viagra prescription charge in the UK is currently £7.20, while it is £4 in Scotland.
What is meant by a private prescription?
An official NHS prescription form does not carry a private prescription. This (private prescription) is thus not paid for by the NHS.
The entire cost of a private prescription is paid by the patient, and this is dependent on how much the medicine costs plus what the pharmacist charges for supplying it.
