A PENSIONER with a gluten allergy claims he will not be able to afford to eat if planned NHS cuts to prescription foods go ahead.

Bill Buckingham, 90, a former Oxford Lord Mayor, was diagnosed with Coeliac disease five years ago.

Children and adults with the autoimmune disease cannot eat gluten, a product which is found in wheat, barley and rye, and is also often in products such as mayonnaise, soup, and other processed goods.

Instead, two thirds of Mr Buckingham’s daily meals are made up of gluten-free bread and wheat substitutes which he, and thousands like him, are eligible for free or at a discounted rate on prescriptions.

However, NHS Oxfordshire, the county’s health authority, is planning to be the first in the UK to ban gluten-free food from NHS prescriptions to save £350,000 a year.

If it gets given the go-ahead it will affect thousands of county residents who get food such as bread, pasta, pizza bases and crackers paid for by the NHS.

Mr Buckingham, from Littlemore, who lost his wife just over a month ago, now makes three simple meals for himself a day.

For breakfast he eats glutenfree cornflakes, for lunch a sandwich made with gluten-free bread or gluten-free soup, and a normal dinner.

The grandfather of three said he exists on a modest pension, which does not allow for the pricey supermarket alternatives to gluten-free prescriptions.

Mr Buckingham is eligible for around 14 units of food a month for free but rarely takes it all.

That equates to 10 packets of 400g bread or rolls, two bread mixes, and two packets of biscuits. For a prescription this would cost £7.40, but can cost up to £30 in some shops.

He said: “I’ve never milked the system.

“I’ve worked all my life and paid my way.

“All I get the prescriptions for is bread, and cornflakes, and some biscuits.

“For them to be saying they can’t afford this anymore is just diabolical.”

There are believed to be more than 6,000 coeliac sufferers in the county and complications can range from mild to severe abdominal pain, to osteoporosis, and even bowel cancer.

Coeliac UK, a charity set up in support of sufferers, labelled the move draconian.

Chief executive Sarah Sleet said: “Prescriptions provide access to essential gluten-free foods that might otherwise be out of reach for those most in need.

“We recognise the financial constraints faced by Primary Care Trusts, but these cuts are potentially damaging to overall patient health.”

The Primary Care Trust said it welcomed all comments which would inform the ultimate decision.

A public consultation has opened and will run until February 3.

The questionnaire can be filled in at http://bit.ly/xUfNWB Comments can also be emailed to talking.health@ oxfordshirepct.nhs.uk or posted to Communications and Engagement, NHS Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Cluster, Jubilee House, 5510 John Smith Drive, Oxford Business Park South, Oxford, OX4 2LH.