§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many doctors' prescriptions were inaccurately dispensed in the past year due to the inability of pharmacists to read the handwriting on them; and if his Department is considering any recommendations to reduce the number of incorrectly dispensed prescriptions.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeIt is a breach of his National Health Service terms of service for a pharmacist to dispense a prescription incorrectly. Where a pharmacist is not certain of a prescriber's intentions—for example, where the handwriting is not legible—he must check with the prescribing general practitioner. While I welcome any steps individual GPs can take to avoid the risk of confusion, I do not believe that, except perhaps in very isolated and wholly exceptional cases, prescriptions are incorrectly dispensed.