§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what advice and guidance his Department gives to doctors practising in the National Health Service concerning appropriate amounts of drugs which should be included in any one prescription, so as to ensure, so far as possible, in the interests of both safety and economy, that sufficient but not excessive amounts of drugs are prescribed.
§ Dr. OwenIn 1959 the Committee on the Cost of Prescribing under the chairmanship of Sir Henry Hinchliffe recommended that quantities prescribed should be limited to one week's supply or to two weeks' after the first fortnight of illness, except in long-term conditions like diabetes, epilepsy, asthma and chronic bronchitis. This advice was circulated to doctors by my Department in 1960 and has since been used as appropriate by my medical officers when discussing prescribing with general practitioners. We are also referring to this advice in the family practitioner notice currently being issued with the 1976–78 edition of the British National Formulary.