§ 2.5 p.m.
§ LORD ARCHIBALDMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they regard the recent report of the Joint Formulary Committee of the British Medical Association and the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain on the labelling of medicines as being satisfactory, in view of the fact that their recommendations would involve—
- (1) in the case of their first example, that doctors would have to re-write on a small prescription form a description of the drug in question;
- (2) in the case of their second example, no adequate information would be available to a doctor, other than the patient's doctor, who might be called in an emergency;
- (3) in their third example, no information would be available either to the emergency doctor or to the patient;
§ LORD NEWTONMy Lords, this is entirely a professional matter and it would be inappropriate for Her Majesty's Government to express a view about the Joint Formulary Committee's conclusions or the examples they quote. It is for the doctor to decide what should appear on the label and to give adequate instructions to his patient, and there would, therefore, be no purpose in publishing to patients the Committee's recommendations.
§ LORD ARCHIBALDMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his Answer, despite the fact that it is quite a negative one. May I ask him whether he will accept that this is not entirely a medical or professional question but one of widespread interest? It is, in fact, a question which concerns the patients, who vastly outnumber the doctors. I would ask that the Minister concerned should consider this matter again, because throughout the country there is widespread interest, and many doctors, and both dispensing and manufacturing chemists, are in favour of a general rule being made. Would it not be reasonable, for the benefit of the patients, that the general rule should be that all containers should be labelled with their contents, and that it should be left to the discretion of the doctor to withhold that information only where he felt it essential to do so?
§ LORD TAYLORMy Lords, before the noble Lord replies, may I add my plea to that of my noble friend Lord Archibald?—because more and more tablets are being prescribed. Patients are given three or four pots of tablets, and they do not know which is which. It would be an enormous help if the naming were automatic and the deletion were at the request of the doctor, because, of course, the doctor has so many prescriptions to write.
LORD REAMy Lords, as a layman, might I also add my support and ask whether the noble Lord does not consider that this matter is something of a hangover from witchcraft, because the relevant professions are rather secretive about it? In my own case, if I want to know whether a pill from box 6142 will 1173 mix with one from 7493 I ask my chemist whether it will kill me or do me good, and it takes him a little time to reply.
§ LORD NEWTONMy Lords, this may be as, the noble Lord, Lord Archibald, said, a matter of considerable public interest; but the fact remains that it is a professional matter for the doctors. That being so, I cannot express an opinion on the merits of the case, one way or the other. It is for the doctors to do as they think fit. I should like to tell your Lordships that the Joint Formulary Committee said this:
If it is the wish of the prescriber that the identity of the preparation should appear on the label, he should include with the directions for use on the prescription the desired name or description of the drug.
§ LORD LATHAMMy Lords, does the noble Lord think that, if it be a matter for the profession and not for the Minister, the profession would resist any representations made by the Minister?
§ LORD NEWTONI cannot say what the reaction of the profession would be to representations by the Minister, but I am quite sure that the Minister would not make representations on a matter which he regards as being entirely a professional one.
§ LORD LATHAMThat is to say he washes his hands of the whole question, as it were?
§ LORD NEWTONI do not think that that is a fair interpretation to put upon it.
§ LORD LATHAMHe does not propose to do anything.
§ LORD NEWTONMinisters of Health for many years have not sought to interfere in entirely professional matters, and I should have thought that if they did they would be doing something which the great majority of doctors would resent.
§ LORD ARCHIBALDMy Lords, might I ask the noble Lord, although he says that he cannot express any personal opinion, whether he will convey to the Minister the views which have been expressed in the questions which have been put to him, and particularly the view that it is not a question only of the right of the doctor, but of the 1174 right of the patient to know what he is being asked to take.
§ LORD NEWTONOf course I will draw my right honourable friend's attention to what your Lordships have said this afternoon. But, so far as I know, if a patient wishes to know what is being prescribed for him there is nothing to prevent him from asking his doctor to write on the label what in fact he is giving him.
§ LORD LATHAMThe noble Lord will surely agree that the patient does not know that he is entitled to have the information as to what the medicine is. Part of this request is that he should be informed.
§ LORD NEWTONMy Lords, I should have thought that anyone who feels very strongly about this could say to his doctor: "Look here, I have a lot of pills in my medicine cupboard. I do not want to get them mixed up; so will you please write on the box what it is?"
§ LORD ARCHIBALDMy Lords, may I again ask the noble Lord to consider the point that patients do not know that they have the right? There is, unfortunately, I think, far too great a respect on the part of patients for the great power and wisdom of the doctor, and they do not know that they have the right to ask for this. The Report of the Joint Formulary Committee has been widely publicised to doctors, but not to the public. I suggest, and ask, that the public should be as well informed of their rights as the doctors are informed of the recommendations of the Joint Formulary Committee. May I ask the noble Lord to consider, if the Government do not know how to publicise to the public the Report of the Joint Formulary Committee, that they might perhaps consult with Colman, Prentis and Varley, as to how the publicity might be done?
§ LORD NEWTONMy Lords, again I take note of what the noble Lord has said, and I will see that my right honourable friend understands how strongly the noble Lord feels about it. But this Report was not publicised by the Government: it was not a Report made to the Minister.
§ BARONESS HORSBRUGHMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that a great 1175 many people, according to my information from doctors, already ask what is in the medicine, and when they are told they do not know in the least what it is?