The cost of NHS prescriptions is set to rise 2.4% – here’s how to get cheap and free medicine in the UK

THE cost of NHS prescriptions in England is going up by 2.4 per cent from next month - pushing the price of a single prescription up by 20p to £8.60.

But there are a few ways you can cut costs, and our guide below will explain what you can do to ensure you're not paying too much for medicine.

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Check to see if you qualify for free prescriptions

First of all, check to see if you qualify for free prescriptions.

If you are under 16 or over 60, aged 16-18 and in full-time education, pregnant (if you hold a Maternity Exemption certificate), or on income support you can get free prescriptions. Prescribed contraceptives are also dispensed free of charge.

All you need to do is fill in the back of your prescription form when you pick your medicine up from the pharmacist.

Get a Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC)

Health Minister Philip Dunne confirmed this month that the cost of prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) has been frozen for another year.

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These essentially act as a season pass that allows unlimited prescriptions for a one-off cost for a set period of three or 12 months.

The three-month costs £29.10 and the cost of the annual PPC costs £104.

Anyone in England can get a PPC and the annual one can be paid in 10 monthly instalments, which means you will pay £10.40 a month to get unlimited prescriptions.

Use the minor ailment scheme to get free non-prescription medicine

The minor ailment scheme is designed to enable adults and children with minor health conditions, such as a cold, earache and hay fever, to get free non-prescription medicines and treatments.

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While the scheme isn't available everywhere, you could get what you need for your ailment from your local pharmacist for free - so long as you are already entitled to free prescriptions.

It's unlikely you'll be given branded medicine like Calpol or Nurofen, but you can get unbranded equivalents.

If you take advantage of the minor ailments scheme you get free medicine, but be aware that this is ultimately paid for by the (increasingly cash-strapped) NHS, and British taxpayers - MSE

You'll find the scheme running in selected Boots and Lloyds pharmacies, plus other chains and independent pharmacies.

In Scotland all community pharmacies run the scheme, but in the rest of the UK it's run by the NHS locally – some areas will offer it, while others won't.

Don't assume prescriptions are the cheapest option

If you’re prescribed over the counter medication like painkillers or skin condition creams, it may be cheaper to buy them outright, rather than paying £8.60 for a prescription given to you by your doctor.

A 500ml tub of Aqueous cream, for example, is £4.39 at Boots, so getting a prescription for the same lotion would leave you out of pocket.

Ask for a bigger prescription

Doctors will often automatically write out prescriptions for small amounts, but you can make savings on your prescriptions by getting them in bulk.

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If you need a lot of medication, such as three months' worth of antihistamine for hayfever, getting a doctor to do a bulk prescription is cheaper than getting one month's worth three times, as you'll be paying three times as much.

Ditch the big brands and save 36 per cent on your medication

Buying big name medicine brands could be up to three times more expensive than non-branded alternatives, despite the fact that the ingredients are the same.

An investigation by MoneySavingExpert.com looked at the price of a series of medications at 11 high street stores and found that some shoppers were paying triple the price for identical medication.

For instance, the Calcough brand of children’s cough syrup costs £3.59, while Boots’ own-brand identical syrup costs £2.29 – 36 per cent less.

As long as the "active" ingredients are the same, the unbranded medicine will have the same effect and it will save you a ton of money.

Read our guide on how you can also cut the cost of eye tests and prescription glasses, saving yourself hundreds of pounds.