§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will ask the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to advise general practitioners on prescribing statins, in view of the study by the Medical Research Council and the British Heart Foundation relating to reduced vascular events and deaths experienced by patients with a previous history of coronary and vascular disease. [HL2313]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)We have no plans at present to ask the National Institute for Clincial Excellence to advise general practitioners on the prescribing of the statin group of drugs. Current guidance is available in the National Service Framework (NSF) for Coronary Heart Disease (published March 2000), as amended by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO)'s Update 29. Data on prescribing of statins in primary care shows a substantial increase in prescribing since the NSF was published in line with the recommendations in the NSF for the effective treatment of patients with established coronary heart disease to prevent further coronary events. This trend is continuing with prescribing of statins currently increasing by about 30 per cent each year.
The full findings of the research by the Medical Research Council and the British Heart Foundation, called the Heart Protection Study, are expected later this year. We will consider whether any further guidance is necessary when the full results are available.