Charges for NHS prescriptions, wigs and fabric supports will increase next month, the Department for Health and Social Care has announced.

The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 2024 were laid before Parliament on April 3, 2024.

The regulations set out the new charges for NHS prescription charges in England.

On May 1, 2024, charges for prescriptions and prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) will increase by 2.59 percent (rounded to the nearest 5p).

Charges for wigs and fabric supports will increase by the same rate.

A prescription will cost £9.90 for each medicine or appliance dispensed, an increase of 25 pence. The three-month PPC will cost £32.05 and the 12-month PPC will cost £114.50.

The hormone replacement therapy (HRT) PPC will cost £19.80, an increase of 50 pence.

This is because the rate is set at twice the single prescription charge.

England is the only country in the UK that still charges patients for their prescriptions. Individuals across Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland get theirs for free after charges were scrapped just over a decade ago.

The full details of the new charges from May 1 include:

• Single prescription charge – £9.90 (up from £9.65)
• 3-month PPC – £32.05 (up from £31.25)
• 12-month PPC – £114.50 (up from £111.60)
• HRT PPC £19.80 (up from £19.30)
• Surgical bra – £32.50 (up from £31.70)
• Abdominal or spinal support – £49.05 (up from £47.80)
• Stock acrylic wig – £80.15 (up from £78.15)
• Partial human hair wig – £212.35 (up from £207)
• Full bespoke human hair wig – £310.55 (up from £302.70).

Commenting on the price rise, Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: “Yet again community pharmacies must be the bearers of bad news as the Government decides to raise the NHS prescription charge.

“As the cost of living continues to put strain on the most vulnerable in society, many patients will have to make unbearable decisions about which medicines they can afford to pay for.

“We remain opposed to the charge: it is a tax on the vulnerable and one which forces pharmacy teams to act as tax collectors on top of the intolerable wider pressures that community pharmacy is facing.”