§ Mr. Beggsasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action has been taken to ensure that diabetics in Northern Ireland will be able to obtain disposable insulin syringes and needles free on prescription when the new scheme is launched on 1 September.
§ Mr. NeedhamUnder the scheme, sterile single-use U100 insulin disposable syringes, needles and needle-clipping devices will be made available from 1 September 1987 on general medical practitioner prescription to insulin dependent diabetics. To ensure that this equipment will be in sufficient supply to meet demand at the introduction of the scheme, the Department of Health and Social Services has already been in contact with the main wholesale distributors in Northern Ireland.
In early August, in keeping with the time scale for the rest of the United Kingdom, all general medical practitioners on the medical list and all pharmacists on the pharmaceutical list will, through the Central Services Agency, be given details of the scheme. Each pharmacist and dispensing doctor will also receive copies of a leaflet which offers guidance to diabetic patients on the safe disposal of injection equipment.