§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will estimate the annual value of sales of Adifax, Tenuate, Dospan and Duromine direct to general practitioners;
(2) what plans he has to control the supply of dangerous drugs direct to general practitioners.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 11 March 1994]: This information is not available. The sale of medicinal products direct to GPs for private purposes is outwith the national health service.
The supply of dangerous drugs direct to general practitioners is already strictly regulated under the provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and its subordinate legislation. Under regulations 9(4)(a) and 14(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985, an authorised supplier may supply schedule 3 drugs to a general practitioner only upon receipt of a written requisition.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will investigate allegations as to the sale of addictive dangerous drugs to general practitioners and their subsequent sale to customers for slimming purposes, without medical examination, at prices far in excess of the cost to the NHS;
(2) what safeguards are in place to protect patients from being given addictive, hallucinogenic drugs for slimming purposes, without prior medical examination or control and supervision.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 11 March 1994]: If an allegation is made that a GP working within the NHS has breached his/her terms of service, it would be for the health board to consider in the first instance. The subsequent disciplinary procedure may involve the Secretary of State or the General Medical Council—GMC—at a later stage. Allegations of professional misconduct against a medical practitioner, whether or not he/she is working within the NHS, should be directed to the GMC.
The safeguards in place to protect patients are as follows.
All practising doctors in the United Kingdom must be registered with the GMC. A doctor found guilty of serious professional misconduct such as the prescription or supply of dependence—inducing drugs other than in the course of bone fide treatment, can be struck off or suspended from the register of the GMC.
Also, detailed and specific guidance on the prescribing of drugs likely to cause dependence is provided in the British National Formulary—BNF—which is published
General dental service expenditure on children in Scotland: 1992–93 (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Gross expenditure (£000) Number of registered children Number of children in the population Cost per registered child (£) Cost per child in the population (£) 29,626 702,037 1,153,147 42.20 25.69 Notes:
1. The gross expenditure on general dental services (GDS) in column (a) comprises capitation payments, weighted entry payments, child item of service payments for treatments given under capitation, and child item of service payments for treatments given on an occasional basis in the financial year 1992–93.
2. Column (b) is the number of children registered with a general dental practitioner (GDP) at September 1992.
3. Column (c) is for June 1992.
4. Children may also be treated in the community or hospital dental services as well as in the general dental service. Children who are not registered with a GDP may receive GDS treatment on an occasional basis.
736Wjointly by the British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. The BNF is provided free of charge to all GPs within the NHS.