MPs have condemned NHS charges for services ranging from eye tests to hospital car parking fees as a "complete mess".

A report from the Commons health select committee concluded that charges for prescriptions, dentistry and eye tests have developed without any underlying principles and are "full of anomalies".

It said the system of exempting some patients from paying for prescriptions was particularly confusing.

"The list of exemptions was complied in 1968, and has not changed," it said.

"Given the vast improvements in medical science since that time, this is unacceptable."

Stakeholder Response: National Pharmacy Association

A spokesperson for the National Pharmacy Association told ePolitix: "For well over a decade the NPA has advocated (and lobbied for) the abolition of prescription charges – largely because the system is riddled with inequities.