Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the affordability of NHS prescription charges for patients living with sickle cell disease.

No specific assessment has been made. Information on the proportion of patients with sickle cell disease who meet the eligibility criteria for free prescriptions is not held centrally. Whilst sickle cell disease is not on the list of the qualifying conditions for a medical exemption from prescription charges, patients with sickle cell disease may meet the eligibility criteria for another prescription charge exemption and be in receipt of free prescriptions. Eligibility will depend on the patient's age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have another qualifying health condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.