§ Mr. Colemanasked the Minister of Health if, in view of the public concern at the increase in drug addiction, he will consider making regulations which require medical practitioners to see patients personally each time habit-forming drugs are prescribed.
§ Mr. K. RobinsonI do not regard this as a suitable method of tackling drug addiction. Prescribing is part of a doctor's professional responsibility and it is for him to decide in each case whether it is clinically necessary to see a patient before prescribing. I have no evidence that addiction to habit-forming drugs has increased through doctors prescribing without seeing the patients concerned on each occasion.