§ Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what computer spare capacity exists within the National Health Service accessible to the Prescription Pricing Authority; how many clerical staff are at present engaged in processing prescription forms; what is the total number of scripts being processed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MoyleSome spare computer capacity exists at certain installations within the National Health Service which in the main would be expected to be absorbed by the forecast work loads of the relevant authorities. It is not acces-
494Wpopulation for each of the last six years; and what were the national average figures for the same period.
§ Mr. MoyleThe information requested is as follows:
sible to the Prescription Price Authority because that authority at present has no economic means of presenting prescription data in a form suitable for pricing by computer.
A specially prepared small sample of prescription data is processed by a departmental computer to provide required statistical information only. An experiment is now to be undertaken which, if successful, will lead to the designing of a computer system for pricing and otherwise processing prescription data. The PPA, its staff and those to whom it is responsible for providing a service would the all need to be assured that any installation where prescription data was to be processed would be geographically accessible and capable of providing the necessary substantial resources, with the appropriate high degree of priority, over a long and continuous period. It is unlikely that any such assurances could be given unless the installation or installations in question were under the PPA's immediate managerial control.
Out of the PPA's total staff complement of 1,928 at 31st December 1977, there were 1,784 clerical staff employed on prescription processing. During the year ending 31st December 1977 about 196 million forms were processed.