Cost of prescriptions to rise 25p on last year Ending the charge would cost £450m a year. There have been concerns that sick people on low incomes cannot afford all of their medicines and often go without because of the charge, putting their health in jeopardy. Neal Patal of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said: "The prescription charge system at the moment seems to penalise people that have certain long-term conditions, but not others. It is perhaps a false economy to think if we don't take these medicines there is a reduced cost to that patient. But, longer term, they may end up in hospital and cost the NHS more. There will also be an increase in charges for dental treatment by 50p to take a the cost of an examination and basic work to £17.50 and more complex work such as root canals will go up by £1 to reach £48. A Department for Health spokesman said the £450m funding from prescription charges was the equivalent to the salary costs of 18,000 nurses, or 15,000 midwives, or 3,500 hospital consultants. This income helps the NHS to maintain vital services for patients. Those exempt from prescription charges include over-65s, children under 16, people on income-related benefit claimants, pregnant women and people with serious long-term medical conditions. Contraception is free. Free prescriptions were introduced in Wales in 2007, Northern Ireland in 2010 and Scotland in 2011.