§ Dr. Millerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the proportion of the drug bill attributed to prescriptions for proprietary medicines and prescriptions for non-proprietary medicines in the general practitioner sector of the National Health Service in each of the years from 1949 to 1970.
§ Mr. AlisonFor the years 1961–69 the percentages of the total net ingredient cost of all prescriptions on Form EC10 dispensed by chemists in England and Wales, attributable to proprietary and non-proprietary preparations respectively were as follows:—
NET INGREDIENT COST OF PRESCRIPTIONS DISPENSED (ENGLAND AND WALES) Year Proprietary Preparations Non-Proprietary Preparations 1961 … … 87.8 7.3 1962 … … 89.0 6.6 1963 … … 89.2 6.5 1964 … … 90.3 5.8 1965 … … 89.8 5.9 1966 … … 89.4 6.6 1967 … … 89.4 6.4 1968 … … 89.6 6.2 1969 … … 90.2 6.0
§ Dr. Millerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the proportion of the total cost of the National Health Service attributed to the drug bill in the general practitioner sector in each year from 1949 to 1970; and what was the 224W total cost of the drug bill in each of these years.
§ Mr. AlisonThe information is as follows:
Year ended 31st March Gross cost of Pharmaceutical Services in England and Wales £ million Proportion of total cost of National Health Service Percentage 1950 … … 31 7.6 1951 … … 35 8.1 1952 … … 45 10.0 1953 … … 48 9.5 1954 … … 46 9.4 1955 … … 49 9.6 1956 … … 52 9.1 1957 … … 60 9.3 1958 … … 64 9.5 1959 … … 69 9.6 1960 … … 76 9.8 1961 … … 84 9.8 1962 … … 87 9.7 1963 … … 89 9.4 1964 … … 98 9.6 1965 … … 116 10.3 1966 … … 135 10.9 1967 … … 142 10.5 1968 … … 155 10.4 1969 … … 160 10.0 1970 … … 179 10.1
§ Dr. Millerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total number of prescriptions issued by general practitioners in each year from 1949 to 1970.
§ Mr. AlisonInformation in the precise form requested is not available; but the number of prescriptions dispensed annually by chemists in England and Wales since 1949 was as follows:—
Year Number of Prescriptions Millions 1949 … … … 202.011 1950 … … … 217.145 1951 … … … 227.694 1952 … … … 216.000 1953 … … … 219.757 1954 … … … 218.713 1955 … … … 226.116 1956 … … … 228.879 1957 … … … 207.209 1958 … … … 203.385 1959 … … … 214.029 1960 … … … 218.685 1961 … … … 205.016 1962 … … … 196.626 1963 … … … 205.462 1964 … … … 209.375 1965 … … … 244.346 1966 … … … 261.954 1967 … … … 271.206 1968 … … … 267.378 1969 … … … 264.172 The figure for 1970 is not yet available