| A HANDFUL of patients have been left with headaches and constipation after doctors put them on cheaper drugs - a move which health chiefs claim could slash millions of pounds from the county's annual health bill.
Using generic drugs rather than branded medicines is now being looked at across the board by Suffolk Primary Care Trust (PCT) as a means of saving money.
A key area for prescription savings is cholersterol-busting drugs called statins, where switching from branded drugs to a generic counterpart could save the county's health service nearly £3million each year.
Although the vast majority of patients who have transferred to the cheaper drugs have had no problems, some have experienced side effects such as constipation, diarrhoea and headaches.
And some doctors might refuse to prescribe cheaper alternatives, because they will be financially worse off.
The Orchard House Surgery in Newmarket, however, has already made the switchover and its GPs claim the move will save £11,760 each year.
More than half of the surgery's patients are now on the cheaper medicines - compared with about 22% in June.
In Suffolk the total estimated saving of achieving this would be in the region of £2.8m a year, according to the PCT.
Dr Peter Bradley, Suffolk PCT's director of public health, said: "By any measure this is a lot of change in a short time.
"There have been very few problems and the switch worked very smoothly. Family doctors are working well towards making the change over.
"This is a huge achievement by Orchard House Surgery which will make a difference for people. With no need for service cuts, and very little impact on his patients.
"Orchard House Surgery is only one of many surgeries across the county making the switch from branded statins to (the generic product) simvastatin, which is equally effective for patients. Another practice in the area has made a staggering yearly saving of around £50,000 after swapping some 350 patients on to generic statins.
"Statins are the biggest single area where we can save money. However, there are other medications which can be changed over - with no effect on the quality of treatment for the patient - and can also save thousands of pounds for the local NHS."
Dr Rupert Wace, who led the changeover at the Newmarket surgery, said: "I felt it would be indefensible to waste taxpayers' money on more expensive drugs when pravastin and simvastatin were available and just as effective.
"We have found it is rare for people to have problems with changing the statins and we have picked up only one or two who have had to go back to the expensive branded statins. Very few patients have been unhappy."
Dr Wace said his surgery was losing money as a result of changing its statin prescriptions, because prescribing GPs get a cut from drug sales. The more expensive the drug, he said, the greater the revenue.
Suffolk PCT announced in October it was aiming to be able to prescribe generic simvastatin or pravastatin, to 80% of all patients taking statins within the next six months. |
