§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list how many prescriptions for benzodiazepines have been issued by general practitioners for each of the last five years; and what was the average quantity of drugs per prescription for each of these years.
§ Mr. NewtonThe information is not available in the form requested. The number of prescriptions for benzodiazepines dispensed by community pharmacists in Great Britain for each of the last five years was as follows:
Millions 1982 29.7 1983 28.7 1984 28.0 1985 25.7 1986 25.4 The figures for 1987 are not yet available.
It is not possible to construct a meaningful overall average quantity per prescription because benzodiazepines are dispensed in a variety of formulations (for example, tablets, capsules, suppositories and elixirs) and most are offered in several different strengths.
§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list by region the amount and value of benzodiazepines prescribed by general practitioners for the last five years.
§ Mr. NewtonThe information is not available in the form requested. Information on benzodiazepines can be extracted from data from the hypnotic and sedative and tranquilliser therapeutic categories of drugs. These data are broken down by region in the table. Benzodiazepines account for about 85 per cent. of the prescriptions for hypnotics, sedatives and tranquillisers.
331W
Number and net ingredient cost of prescriptions for hynolics, sedatives and tranquillisers (millions) 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 Region Number £ NIC Number £ NIC Number £ NIC Number £ NIC Number £ NIC Northern 2.333 3.949 2.003 3.605 2.068 3.925 1.786 2.975 1.802 2.721 Yorkshire 2.661 4.200 2.342 4.026 2.198 3.895 2.066 3.177 2.049 2.965 Trent 2.974 4.473 2.638 4.317 2.450 3.961 2.392 3.485 2.310 3.112 East Anglian 0.956 1.400 0.861 1.347 0.801 1.278 0.726 1.123 0.747 0.961 North West Thames 2.154 3.390 1.937 3.321 1.852 3.151 1.578 2.450 1.545 2.339 North East Thames 2.137 3.283 1.964 3.212 1.924 3.367 1.707 2.552 1.711 2.360 South East Thames 2.425 3.593 2.111 3.365 2.065 3.558 1.933 3.095 1.793 2.468 South West Thames 1.941 3.061 1.691 2.879 1.637 2.873 1.498 2.455 1.494 2.319 Wessex 1.815 2.887 1.603 2.780 1.538 2.713 1.446 2.321 1.431 2.055 Oxford 1.220 1.931 1.069 1.855 1.090 1.859 0.991 1.660 0.940 1.314 South Western 2.258 3.533 1.988 3.364 1.828 3.110 1.770 2.854 1.674 2.298 West Midlands 3.380 5.201 2.944 4.824 2.784 4.826 2.535 3.862 2.506 3.552 Mersey 1.940 2.863 1.769 2.824 1.685 2.650 1.667 2.416 1.626 2.165 North Western 3.624 5.594 3.228 5.243 3.173 5.380 2.852 4.217 2.854 3.753 Total 31.818 49.355 28.146 46.963 27.093 46.546 24.948 38.642 24.480 34.382 The net ingredient cost (NIC) refers to the basic cost of the drug and does not include and does not include and discounts, dispensing costs or fees.
The sum of each region may not add up to the total because of rounding.
The information for 1987 is not yet available.