A DIABETIC man, medically exempt from paying for prescriptions, has claimed the NHS are threatening him with a fine for unpaid prescriptions.
Jack Fifield of Bolton, Greater Manchester, was sent a letter from the NHS demanding he pay a £100 fine and the original prescription charges as they could not verify his medical exemption.
The local reporter took to social media to share his story after he received the ‘threatening’ letter from the NHS.
Jack shared an image of the letter which demands he pays the fine or contacts the NHS within three weeks to clear things up alongside his valid medical exemption card.
The letter claims that Jack claimed prescriptions between January and February 2024 that he was not medically exempt from paying for.
The obvious mistake on the NHS’s part leaves Jack to sort out the mess or pay the fine and the prescription charges.
The type 1 diabetic’s medical exemption card is valid until 2025 leaving him bewildered as to how the mistake was made.
The letter claims that the NHS has not been able to confirm whether Jack was entitled to free prescriptions, leaving the burden of proof on him.
Outraged, Jack took to social media to share the story and vent his frustrations with the National Health Service.
Jack shared numerous images proving his medical exemptions validity and an image of the letter from the NHS Business Services demanding payment.
Jack settled the issue with the NHS soon after discovering that it was a problem with his postode that led them to threaten him with a fine.
Still furious despite the issue being resolved, Jack took to social media to vent his anger at the NHS Business Services Authority.
Jacks post was captioned: “Just come home to a letter from the NHS threatening me, a type 1 diabetic (incurable), saying I might be fraudulently claiming free prescriptions and that they’re going to send me a £100 penalty if I don’t respond within three weeks.
“I hate this country.”
His story quickly gained attention on social media from users who sympathised with the frustrating situation.
The post received 9,700 likes and 1,000 comments from users who offered advice and shared their own stories.
One user said: “Don’t hate the country, hate the NHS.”
Another added: “Yeah, it’s a broken part of the system. For a while the spelling of my name – or date of birth, or *something* (maybe Ben/Benjamin?!) was different in one part of the system than another, so I got a letter like this *every* time I filled a prescription, using my prepay card.”
A third said: “It’s about time they sorted this, it seems many people are taking the piss.”
And a fourth added: “It’s the assumption that the patient is in the wrong, rather than something, maybe even the NHS, is wrong that would make me incandescent.”
