[user104658]

The problem is that the NHS, and private doctors as well for that matter, are habitually over-prescribing on an absolutely massive scale. There are COUNTLESS ailments, especially in the elderly, that can be controlled or even alleviated completely with diet and lifestyle changes but it's much easier (not to mention profitable, with their Big Pharma kickbacks and bribes) for GPs to give out prescriptions and say "go away and pop a pill".

Not to mention the terrifying overprescription of antibiotics, which has massive biological (individual and wider) implications as well as the huge financial burden.

The scale of the problem is absolutely insane. I would say that probably 75% of GP visits result in patients being sent away with pill prescriptions that they just absolutely do not need.