§ 82. Mr. Blenkinsopasked the Minister of Health whether the preparation, "Algipan," can be freely prescribed under the National Health Service; and its cost, as compared with that of any available B.P.C. alternative.
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithA doctor may prescribe any drug or medicine which he considers necessary for the treatment of a patient, but the Joint Committee on Prescribing classified "Algipan" as including drugs which, in their view, had not been proved of therapeutic value. Doctors were, therefore, asked not to prescribe it unless satisfied it was necessary, exceptionally, in a particular case.
The cost to the National Health Service is 4s. 6½d. There is no identical standard preparation, but the cost of a similar quantity of a B.P.C. ointment commonly used for the same purpose is 2s. 1d.