§ Mr. Arbuthnotasked the Minister of Health if he will give the breakdown figures of the cost of the services paid for by the National Health Service in the year ended 31st March, 1960, to the nearest £10,000 under the following heads: hospital and specialist, general medical, general dental, supplementary ophthalmic, local health authority, other headings—doctors' compensation, central supplies, etc.; and with respect to pharmaceutical services under the following heads: dispensing fees and payments to chemists, allowance to chemists for containers, chemists' overheads and profits, purchase tax, wholesalers' margins, appliances and dressings, payments to dispensing doctors, unbranded standard drugs, and ethical proprietary drugs; and if he will also give the separate figure for the cost of drugs to hospitals included in the hospital and specialist heading above.
§ Mr. PowellThe information is as follows:
Gross cost of the National Health Service for England and Wales for the year ended 31st March. 1960
150W
£ *Hospital, Specialist and Ancillary Services 424,490,000 Executive Councils Administration and Dental Estimates Board 4,130,00 General Medical Services 66,370,000 Pharmaceutical Services 75,840,000 General Dental Services 50,360,000 Supplementary Ophthalmic Services 15,310,000 †Local Health Authority Services 68,310,000 Training Services, etc. 2,060,000 Institutions administered by the Board of Control 1,480,000 ‡Liabilities arising out of the establishment of the N.H.S. 4,530,000 Superannuation 12,160,000 Miscellaneous 1,510,000 726,550,000 * Includes Central Purchases —£8,430,000. Drugs —£11,200,000 (estimate). † Includes payments of balances of grants to local authorities in respect of previous years—£2,240,000. ‡Includes Doctors' Compensation—£2,940,000.
Details of Cost of Pharmaceutical Services £ Payments to dispensing doctors for services and for drugs, appliances and dressings supplied 2,520,000 Payments to chemists and appliance contractors in respect of:— (a) Dispensing fees and rota services 13,330,000 (b) On-cost allowances 11,710,000 (c) Allowances for containers 1,440,000 (d) Cost of appliances and dressings 2,340,000 (e) Cost of prescriptions specifying drugs by standard names 9,370,000 (f) Cost of prescriptions specifying drugs by proprietary names 35,130,000 75,840,000 Notes 1. Payments to chemists at (a) and (b) above together constitute payments for overheads, professional services and profits. 2. The total of payments at (d). (e) and (1) includes an estimated sum of £620,000 in respect of purchase tax. 3. Wholesalers' margins are estimated to account for £6+ million-£71 million of the total of the payments at (d), (e) and (f); a more precise estimate cannot be made. 4. About 50 per cent, of the payment at (e) represents the cost of drugs ordered by standard names but available only in proprietary form.