§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MS patients had been prescribed beta interferon by hospital consultants at the latest date for which information is available. [11885]
§ Mr. MaloneData are not collected centrally on drugs prescribed and dispensed in hospitals. The only data available are from the prescribing analysis cost system generated by the Prescription Pricing Authority, and relate only to prescriptions dispensed in the community. A total of 266 prescriptions for beta interferon products were dispensed in the community during July—September 1996.
§ Mr. PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 10 December,Official Report, column 151, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on health authorities financial allocations for beta interferon. [11954]
§ Mr. MaloneNo. It is for individual health authorities to decide the level and type of services purchased in partnership with general practitioners locally and through consultation with other agencies and local people, taking account of local circumstances and national policies and priorities.