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Parents may have been entitled to free Calpol for years without knowing it under a hushed-up NHS scheme.

A mum made the chance discovery after complaining to a Boots cashier about how expensive children’s medicine is.

Christine Davidson, of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides mentioned the NHS Minor Ailments scheme on Facebook – and her post went viral with over 100,000 shares.

She wrote: “She told me if you register your details with them under the Minor Ailments Scheme all ­medicines for children are free. A scheme that has been going for eight years.

“They are not allowed to advertise it but you can save a small fortune on Calpol, Piriton, Sudocrem, plasters, etc.”

The Minor Ailments scheme actually started a decade ago. It lets patients get basic medication for things like coughs, colds, sore throats and earache free from some pharmacists without taking up GPs’ time.

But there appears to have been little awareness of the service until now.

To qualify, patients must be eligible for free prescriptions – which is normally the case if you are under 16, 16-18 and in full-time ­education or over 60.

Women also qualify if they are pregnant or have had a baby in the past 12 months.

All children, whatever family income, are therefore eligible.

In theory, parents could save around £2.99 on a 100ml bottle of Calpol, £5 on a tub of Sudocrem and £10.79 on a children’s eczema cream.

Tonight a spokeswoman for NHS England confirmed the existence of the scheme – which is run by local NHS clinical commissioning groups depending on that area’s needs.

But she said it was “unlikely” patients would get “branded medicine, like Calpol”.

She added: “The scheme was established to provide NHS-funded, over-the-counter ­medicines to people on lower incomes.

"It prevents the need for patients to have medicines for minor illnesses prescribed by a GP, leaving the GP more time for patients with more complicated conditions.”

The NHS was unable to provide a full list of participating pharmacies but around 70 services are believed to be operating in England alone.