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Painkillers and cough medicine would no longer be available on the NHS under a new cost-cutting plan.

NHS chief Simon Stevens says patients should pay for their own hayfever remedies, sun cream and holiday vaccinations.

GPs will be told to stop prescribing things that can be bought cheaply elsewhere according to the plans, revealed last night.

There are also plans for GPs to record all EU patients, in an attempt to crack down on so-called ‘health tourism’, which amounts to just 0.3% of the NHS budget.

And Stevens’ cost-cutting measures will crack down on NHS managers hiring locus doctors, who are paid up to £200,000 a year.

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It’s claimed cutting gluten free foods out of NHS prescriptions will save the Health Service £22 million a year.

Scrapping free travel vaccinations would save around £9.5 million, it was reported.

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The health service chief told the Daily Mail he believed £400 million could be saved every year by local doctors dishing out fewer ‘low priority’ items.

He said: “‘There’s £114million being spent on medicines for upset tummies, haemorrhoids, travel sickness, indigestion, that’s even before you get on to the £22million-plus on gluten free that you can also now get at Morrisons, Lidl or Tesco.

“We will be backing them in new national guidelines that say those should not routinely be prescribed on the NHS.”

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The list includes omega-3 and fish oils, lidocaine plasters, rubefacients, liothyronine, tadalafil (not all uses), doxazosin MR, fentanyl, gluten-free foods and travel vaccines.

These are thought to cost the service £128 million per year, NHS England said.

Although not included in the current proposed list, NHS provision of items such as paracetamol, suncream, cough treatments and indigestion tablets could be included in future reviews.

The consultation comes following a request by NHS Clinical Commissioners which identified "significant areas" where savings of up to £400 million per year could be made.

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Lidocaine plasters - for back or joint pain - and fentinil - a painkiller for cancer patients - are among the 10 items under the focus of the initial consultation.

Travel vaccines protecting against typhoid, hepatitis A and cholera, and a triple jab for diptheria, polio and tetanus, will also be subject to review.

Many of the treatments are cheaper than the £8.40 prescription charge - but not for the millions who get their prescriptions free.

This includes everyone over 60 or under 16, anyone pregnant or who had a baby in the last year, and people on certain benefits.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Tory cuts have gone too far. Labour will re-nationalise our NHS so patients do not go without the medicine they need."

A spokeswoman for NHS England said: "New guidelines will advise CCGs on the commissioning of medicines generally assessed as low priority and will provide support to clinical commissioning groups, prescribers and dispensers.

"The increasing demand for prescriptions for medication that can be bought over the counter at relatively low cost, often for self-limiting or minor conditions, underlines the need for all healthcare professionals to work even closer with patients to ensure the best possible value from NHS resources, whilst eliminating wastage and improving patient outcomes."