§ Mr. SarwarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the number of patients with multiple sclerosis in each health board area who would benefit from the provision of beta-interferon in Scotland. [80010]
§ Mr. GalbraithIt is not possible to estimate the number of patients with multiple sclerosis in each Health Board who would benefit from the provision of Beta-Interferon.
By no means all patients with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis benefit from the use of this drug and decisions as to individual patients' eligibility for this treatment depend on the clinical judgment of the medical practitioners concerned.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
§ Mr. SarwarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what discussions he has had with health boards regarding the prescription of beta-interferon; what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the effectiveness of beta-interferon in the treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis in Scotland; and if he will increase the resources available to health boards to fund the provision of beta-interferon to patients with multiple sclerosis; [80009]
(2) how much funding has been allocated to support research into the causes and treatment of multiple sclerosis in each of the last three years. [80011]
§ Mr. GalbraithIn 1995, The Scottish Office Department of Health (SODoH) issued guidance to health boards covering the use of beta-interferon for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. The guidance states that the costs of prescribing beta-interferon for suitable patients are expected to be met from within health board allocations, taking account of local priorities.
We have not funded research into the causes or treatment of multiple sclerosis in the past 3 years, and we have never funded research on the effectiveness of beta-interferon as a treatment. This is because no quality proposals on these subjects have been received. The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the SODoH is responsible for encouraging and supporting research aimed at improving the health of the people of Scotland and the services provided by the NHS in Scotland. CSO would be 201W happy to receive innovative, quality proposals on these subjects, which would be assessed in the usual way by an external, independent, peer review body.
§ Mr. SarwarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many patients suffering from multiple sclerosis were prescribed beta-interferon by each health board in(a) 1995, (b) 1996, (c) 1997 and (d) 1998. [80008]
§ Mr. GalbraithThe information for Scotland for the years 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 is shown in the table.
In order not to disclose information that may relate to an individual patient the data are presented on a national basis and covers 14 of the 15 Health Boards. One Health Board was unable to provide the information in the desired format.
Year Number of patients 1995 1 1996 4 1997 15 1998 97 From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish parliament.