§ Mr. Marksasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will alter the National Health Service prescription form so that the cost of the drug prescribed is made apparent to the patient when that cost is less than £1.
§ Sir George YoungAltering National Health Service prescription forms to accommodate information of the kind suggested would not, in itself, achieve the object the hon. Member has in mind. The cost would first have to be determined and then entered either by the prescriber or at a later stage by the dispenser, and it would be unreasonable to place on doctors or pharmacists an additional burden such as this which is not a requirement of their terms of service under the National Health Service.