NHS prescription charges will be raised by 20p per item from 1 April, the Government has announced.

Prescription prices will go from £8.40 to £8.60 for each medicine or appliance dispensed.

Prescription pre-payment certificate (PPC) costs will remain unchanged for another year, at £29.10 for a three-month PPC and £104 for 12 months.

Patients who require four or more items in three months or more than 12 items in one year have the option to save on prescription costs by using PPCs.

'Frozen costs'

Minister of state at the Department of Health, Philip Dunne said: 'To ensure that those with the greatest need, including patients with long-term conditions, are protected we have frozen the cost of the prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) for another year.

'Taken together, this means prescription charges are expected to rise broadly in line with inflation.'

Existing exemptions will remain in place for patients with certain medical conditions such as cancer, epilepsy and diabetes, pregnant women and new mothers, children under 16 and anyone over 60, and those on a low income.

Charges for wigs and fabric supports will rise in line with inflation, the Government confirmed.

New prices:

  • Surgical brassiere: £28.40
  • Abdominal or spinal support: £42.95
  • Stock modacrylic wig: £70.15
  • Partial human hair wig: £185.80
  • Full bespoke human hair wig: £271.70