WINSFORD GP Dr Jonathan Griffiths took to social media last week to ask people whether paracetamol should be paid for or prescribed.

Dr Griffiths is a GP at Swanlow Lane Surgery and is also the chair of Vale Royal Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which distributes funding to health services in and around Winsford and Northwich.

He posed the question to his 2090 followers on Twitter, asking ‘should people be encouraged to buy their paracetamol rather than getting a prescription?’

Eighty-three votes were cast and the results showed that 94 per cent answered ‘yes’, saying that people should pay for paracetamol.

Dr Griffiths said: “The result is decisive and I suspect that most people recognise the financial challenges we are facing currently, and can quickly see that there are more important services which need the funding.

“The poll result aligns with my experience as a GP where increasingly my patients are choosing to buy paracetamol and asking for it to be removed from prescription. The local NHS is underfunded, but with no prospect of increased resources in the near future we all need to do what we can to ensure that essential services remain.”

Vale Royal CCG is also running a questionnaire to get the views of the public. To give your views, visit surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DRAFTselfcareVR.