“The NHS is going to be overwhelmed with sick people,” she says. “It is disgusting the way we have been treated.”

“It is hugely worrying,” she says. Marilyn is concerned she would have to tell the doctor she can’t afford her medication, or ask friends and family for help.

“I’ll have to ask people to pay for that as a birthday present or a Christmas present, because where do you make up £100 for a prescription certificate for a year, out of nothing?”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Around 90 percent of community prescription items in England are free of charge, and people don’t pay if they are on a low income, over 60, or have certain medical conditions.