§ Mr. SinghTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many teenage girls have suffered adverse medical consequences as a result of being prescribed oral contraceptives in each of the last five years. [10486]
§ Mr. MilburnThe information available from the yellow card scheme for adverse reaction reporting is shown in the table. The scheme is voluntary for doctors, dentists, coroners and hospital pharmacists and not all adverse drug reactions are reported. A report of a suspected adverse drug reaction does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the drug, other factors may be contributory.
Numbers of suspected adverse reactions reported to the Committee on Safety of Medicines from 1 Janaury 1992 to 31 December 1996
in teenage girls prescribed oral contraceptives in the United
Kingdom
Year Number of adverse drug reaction reports1 in teenage girls where an oral contraceptive was a suspect drug 1992 36 1993 31 1994 20 1995 34 1996 22 1 Each report relates to one patient.
§ Mr. SinghTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is his Department's policy on the prescription of oral contraceptives to girls aged under 16 years without their parents' knowledge or consent; [10602]
(2) what guidelines his Department has issued on prescription of oral contraceptives to teenage girls under the age of 16 years; [10601]
(3) what monitoring is undertaken to ensure adherence to his Department's guidelines on the prescription of oral contraceptives to teenage girls. [10487]
§ Ms JowellIn March 1986, health circular HC(86)1 was issued to health authorities giving guidance on the provision of contraceptive advice and treatment to young people under 16, and to the circumstances in which such advice and treatment can be given without parental knowledge or consent. The circular sets out the criteria upon which a doctor or health professional must be satisfied before prescribing contraception. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library.
The Department of Health's guidance, and professional advice produced by organisations such as the BMA, make it clear that doctors must try to persuade a young person who is unwilling to allow parents or general practitioners to be informed of the importance of doing so. The General Medical Council has also issued guidelines for GPs on this issue. We will be discussing with the health professions and voluntary sector the development of standards to build upon good practice in contraceptive advice and treatment for young people.