Disabled people risk their health because they cannot afford prescriptions, a new report, Unhealthy Charges, has found.

People on Incapacity Benefit (IB) suffer most said the National Association of Citizens? Advice Bureaux (NACAB) study. This is because they are not eligible for free prescriptions as their income level is above that of Income Support. A Welsh woman with glaucoma risked blindness when she couldn?t afford eight items on her monthly ?48 prescription.

Of the 1,602 people surveyed, half had problems paying charges, while nearly 30 per cent could not collect every item in their prescription because they could not afford it.

Over 70 per cent could not afford a pre-payment certificate, for ?87.60 for a year, while 27 per cent were unaware of the system.
Juliet Tunney, parliamentary officer of The Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, said: ?It?s worrying. People on IB are most likely to need prescriptions, yet they are free to people at 60, who are not necessarily ill and may also be quite well off.?

NACAB is calling for charges to be either abolished or modified on a sliding scale according to personal income.