HC Deb 22 February 1991 vol 186 c302W
Sir Neil Macfarlane

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all the professional organisations and associations which have declared support for original pack dispensing; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

We consulted more than 40 organisations representing the interests of the medical and pharmaceutical professions on the report and recommendations of the joint sub-committee. Widely conflicting views on the benefits of original pack dispensing were received. Whilst most supported the principle, all had reservations about the details of implementation.

Sir Neil Macfarlane

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he intends to implement the recommendation of the joint standing committee on original drug pack dispensing that pharmacists should invariably dispense drugs in whole numbers of original packs; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

A formal consultation exercise is needed for changes to orders under the Medicines Act 1968, section 129(6). Consultations following the report of the Sub-Committee appointed by the Standing Medical, Nursing and Midwifery and Pharmaceutical Advisory Committees to consider original pack dispensing, suggest that agreement on such changes would be difficult to achieve. We intend to institute a new round of consultation with the medical and pharmaceutical professions and the pharmaceutical industry shortly.

Sir Neil Macfarlane

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to assure himself that patients' interests are safeguarded when pharmaceuticals are dispensed from bulk packs; and what information he has on the extent to which the absence of manufacturers' details has caused risk of contamination or error.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

The British National Formulary shows the cautionary and advisory labels that pharmacists are recommended to apply to containers. These include all the information required by the prescriber and necessary for the patient. Dispensing from bulk packs into smaller packs is supervised by pharmacists to ensure that the patient receives the exact quantity the doctor has prescribed.