Last year we reported that the NHS is likely to stop prescribing cold sore creams along with a long list of other over-the-counter prescriptions. Now there is a definite date for when the change will occur: NHS England's new guidance to GPs regarding which items they can prescribe will come into effect from May 31.
The introduction of the tighter rules means that some cold sore sufferers looking for an effective cold sore treatment will have to change their approach to sourcing their treatment of choice from the end of this month.
The proposal to limit the prescription of effective cold sore treatments received "broad support" in a public consultation and will mean that unless patients are suffering from severe cold sores that require more potent antiviral medication, they will have to buy their cold sore treatments themselves, either over-the-counter at the chemist or online from their retailer of choice.
It is not only cold sore treatments that will no longer be available on prescription as a result of the changes. The move, which the NHS say will save millions of pounds every year, will also end prescriptions for threadworm, constipation, haemorrhoids, cradle cap, conjunctivitis and mild acne as well as various other conditions.
Figures released by NHS England detail how each year nearly £23 million is spend on treatments for constipation, £3 million on fungal infections, and £4.5 million on specialist dandruff shampoos. It claims that around £100 million will be saved by the move.
"Across the NHS our aim is to: ‘Think like a patient, act like a taxpayer'," said Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England. "The NHS is probably the most efficient health service in the world, but we're determined to keep pushing further.
"Every pound we save from cutting waste is another pound we can then invest in better A&E care, new cancer treatments and much better mental health services."
It is important to note that any person who suffers from cold sores in addition to a more serious related virus will continue to receive free prescriptions.
One rationale behind the NHS England move is the fact that many of the treatments being scrapped can actually be bought from a chemist at a lower cost than that which was incurred by the NHS.
It could be that the move could lead to some patients finding superior treatments to the ones they are already using. For example, clinical trials of Herstat have found that, when it comes to reducing symptoms, it is a more effective cold sore treatment than any other product available on the market.
