§ Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what further action he proposes to take to deal with the increased cost to the National Health Service caused by prescribing Prednisolone treatment with pills that vary in cost from 62p through a range of comparable drugs at £2.26 and £7.77 up to £10.27, even though there is slight difference of pharmacological action.
§ Mr. MoyleUnder the National Health Service Act, a doctor is free to prescribe any drug which he feels is necessary for the proper treatment of a patient. Where doctors are satisfied that suitable alternative drugs are available for the treatment of a condition, they have been asked to have regard to their relative cost. The treatment to which my hon. Friend refers is treatment with cortiscosteroids. This is a potent group of drugs; the effects of different cortiscosteroids vary qualitatively as well as quantitatively, and my advice is that it may not be possible to substitute one steroid for another in equal therapeutic amounts without provoking unwanted effects. My Department regularly makes available to doctors information about the comparative costs of alternative versions of drugs but I am not persuaded that it would be advisable to draw specific attention to this group of drugs.