§ Mr. Stan Crowtherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what guidance he has given to hospitals on the question of advising patients to visit their general practitioner to obtain treatment, including the issue of prescriptions, while remaining out-patients of a particular consultant.
§ Mr. MoyleThe Department's guidance is that the duty of prescribing rests with the doctor who at the time has the clinical responsibility for the patient's treatment. Where a hospital doctor bears the clinical responsibility for a patient having a course of investigations or treatment as an out-patient, that doctor should prescribe for the patient's needs, but when he decides to return the patient112W to the care of his general practitioner the responsibility for prescribing is similarly transferred. Health authorities were reminded of this in a circular issued last year, which also contained a reminder that locally agreed prescribing arrangements which contribute to rational drug therapy are to be welcomed.