HC Deb 07 November 1988 vol 140 cc59-65W
Mr. David Nicholson

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has ever granted a product licence (parallel import) in respect of a medicine for which a United Kingdom application for a product licence had been refused on the advice of the Committee on Safety of Medicines.

Mr. Mellor

A product licence (parallel import) may be granted only where there is an equivalent product covered by a United Kingdom licence.

Mr. David Nicholson

To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent batch integrity is preserved for medicines that are the subject of product licences (parallel imports) in order to facilitate a recall in the event of a manufacturing defect being identified by the foreign manufacturer.

Number of cases on in-patient waiting list with ranking of district health authorities-special health authorities by percentage change, September 1982 to September 1987
Change 1982–87
Health authority September 1982 September 1987 number per cent.
Milton Keynes1 6 2,030 2,024 33,733.3
Halton 7 123 116 1,657.1
Islington 1,098 2,752 1,654 150.6
Huntingdon 471 1,088 617 131.0
East Surrey 1,257 2,729 1,472 117.1
Hampstead 1,979 3,705 1,726 87.2
Hounslow and Spelthorne 3,127 5,749 2,622 83.9
West Essex 2,555 4,452 1,897 74.2
Bexley 1,123 1,816 693 61.7
Barking, Havering and Brentwood 4,474 7,180 2,706 60.5
Lewisham and North Southwark 5,335 8,443 3,108 58.3
Waltham Forest 3,271 5,140 1,869 57.1
Eastbourne 2,552 3,832 1,280 50.2
Mid Essex 3,246 4,836 1,590 49.0
North Warwickshire 1,944 2,885 941 48.4
Harrogate 1,274 1,889 615 48.3
Dartford and Gravesham 2,916 4,164 1,248 42.8
Moorfields Eye Hospital 1,458 2,075 617 42.3
Maidstone 2,190 3,091 901 41.1
The Royal Marsden Hospital 331 454 123 37.2
West Norfolk and Wisbech 1,688 2,304 616 36.5
Lancaster 1,784 2,422 638 35.8
Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte's 2,167 2,927 760 35.1
Cheltenham 1,782 2,403 621 34.8
Bloomsbury 9,632 12,953 3,321 34.5
Hillingdon 6,009 8,057 2,048 34.1
Kettering 2,848 3,816 968 34.0
West Lambeth 6,038 7,915 1,877 31.1
South East Staffordshire3 2,026 2,650 624 30.8
Kidderminster and District 1,070 1,389 319 29.8
Canterbury and Thanet 4,136 5,339 1,203 29.1
Brent 1,737 2,239 502 28.9
The National Hospital for Nervous Diseases 441 566 125 28.3
West Suffolk 2,027 2,596 569 28.1
Rochdale 2,342 2,980 638 27.2
The National Heart and Chest Hospitals 1,073 1,363 290 27.0
West Surrey and North East Hants 3,708 4,703 995 26.8
Airedale 1,686 2,122 436 25.9
Worcester and District 2,651 3,335 684 25.8
Southend 3,248 4,077 829 25.5
City and Hackney 4,586 5,722 1,136 24.8
Redbridge 1,719 2,094 375 21.8
The Bethlem Royal Maudsley Hospitals 128 154 26 20.3
Herefordshire 2,272 2,732 460 20.2
West Dorset 2,015 2,408 393 19.5
South West Durham 803 959 156 19.4
Leeds Western 4,330 5,144 814 18.8
St. Helens and Knowsley 3,288 3,882 594 18.1

Mr. Mellor

Medicine labels must carry a batch reference and all holders of product and wholesale dealers' licences must keep adequate records to facilitate the withdrawal or recall of a product. A further requirement on a parallel import licence holder is that he must ensure that any batch reference shown on the labelling of the product at the time when it came into his possession shall be readily discernible when the product is sold or supplied by him.

Deficiencies in the records or failure to meet these licence requirements could lead to the suspension or revocation of the licence.

Mr. Dobson

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will update to September 1987 the information on waiting lists contained in his reply to the hon. Member for Livingston (Mr. Cook) on 29 February,Official Report,

Mr. Mellor

The information requested is given in the table.

Change 1982–87
Health authority September 1982 September 1987 number per cent.
West Berkshire 3,256 3,824 568 17.4
Mid Downs 2,621 3,058 437 16.7
North West Surrey 2,315 2,697 382 16.5
Southport and Formby 1,373 1,585 212 15.4
Central Manchester 5,358 6,180 822 15.3
Peterborough 3,770 4,334 564 15.0
Salisbury 4,770 5,410 640 13.4
Chorley and South Ribble 651 731 80 12.3
Wolverhampton 3,677 4,111 434 11.8
South West Surrey 2,385 2,665 280 11.7
Isle of Wight 1,349 1,504 155 11.5
Bromsgrove and Redditch 1,475 1,642 167 11.3
South Bedfordshire 2,382 2,622 240 10.1
Winchester 2,309 2,531 222 9.6
Bromley 1,931 2,113 182 9.4
Ealing 1,489 1,613 124 8.3
Bradford 6,663 7,214 551 8.3
Bristol and Weston 7,142 7,708 566 7.9
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire 6,831 7,306 475 7.0
Bassetlaw 1,185 1,267 82 6.9
Sandwell 1,721 1,840 119 6.9
Northallerton 623 660 37 5.9
Brighton 3,863 4,083 220 5.7
East Suffolk 3,097 3,267 170 5.5
Leeds Eastern 6,169 6,505 336 5.4
South Birmingham 6,878 7,246 368 5.4
Hull 7,050 7,349 299 4.2
Swindon 2,825 2,944 119 4.2
East Cumbria 3,323 3,459 136 4.1
Hastings 2,547 2,621 74 2.9
South Warwickshire 3,194 3,281 87 2.7
Leicestershire 7,177 7,293 116 1.6
Shropshire 8,441 8,520 79 0.9
East Dorset 4,361 4,400 39 0.9
Trafford 1,301 1,307 6 0.5
Greenwich 2,362 2,370 8 0.3
North Staffordshire 8,862 8,780 -82 -0.9
West Birmingham 4,269 4,221 -48 -1.1
The Hospital for Sick Children 1,456 1,437 -19 -1.3
Chester 2,940 2,879 -61 -2.1
Paddington and North Kensington 2,813 2,744 -69 -2.5
Preston 5,287 5,125 -162 -3.1
Tower Hamlets 6,003 5,763 -240 -4.0
Liverpool 8,553 8,197 -356 -4.2
Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde 4,117 3,910 -207 -5.0
Somerset 4,949 4,700 -249 -5.0
Bolton 3,348 3,176 -172 -5.1
Wigan 4,677 4,419 -258 -5.5
Northumberland 1,896 1,789 -107 -5.6
Rotherham 3,871 3,629 -242 -6.3
North Hertfordshire 3,155 2,956 -199 -6.3
North Devon 1,558 1,456 -102 -6.5
Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley 3,294 3,073 -221 -6.7
Enfield 3,068 2,857 -211 -6.9
South West Hertfordshire 1,986 1,841 -145 -7.3
Plymouth 5,897 5,462 -435 -7.4
Darlington 3,140 2,874 -266 -8.5
East Berkshire 8,244 7,534 -710 -8.6
North East Essex 3,510 3,206 -304 -8.7
York 2,710 2,470 -240 -8.9
Greater Yarmouth and Waveney 4,194 3,776 -418 -10.0
West Lancashire 2,433 2,189 -244 -10.0
Basildon and Thurrock 5,888 5,296 -592 -10.1
Southampton and South West Hampshire 9,080 8,062 -1018 -11.2
Wycombe 1,134 1,006 -128 -11.3
Riverside 5,888 5,204 -684 -11.6
Torbay 2,368 2,089 -279 -11.8
Stockport 4,430 3,906 -524 -11.8
Oxfordshire 7,003 6,148 -855 -12.2
Mid Surrey 2,150 1,843 -307 -14.3
Scarborough 2,200 1,883 -317 -14.4
South Manchester 8,120 6,942 -1,178 -14.5
Durham 1,489 1,259 -230 -15.4
Calderdale 1,166 980 -186 -16.0
Gloucester 4,959 4,155 -804 -16.2
Rugby 864 723 -141 -16.3
Exeter 4,436 3,678 -758 -17.1

Change 1982–87
Health authority September 1982 September 1987 number per cent.
Oldham 5,071 4,171 -900 -17.7
Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton 2,313 1,901 -412 -17.8
Medway 3,273 2,636 -637 -19.5
Salford 5,371 4,322 -1,049 -19.5
Chichester 2,786 2,234 -552 -19.8
North Derbyshire 3,511 2,787 -724 -20.6
Harrow 1,370 1,081 -289 -21.1
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 5,238 4,132 -1,106 -21.1
North Lincolnshire 4,129 3,245 -884 -21.4
Wirral 4,714 3,685 -1,029 -21.8
Kingston and Esher 3,194 2,491 -703 -22.0
Wakefield 3,216 2,507 -709 -22.0
Crewe 5,128 3,983 -1,145 -22.3
Pontefract 2,569 1,989 -580 -22.6
Norwich 10,980 8,480 -2,500 -22.8
Cambridge 6,708 5,115 -1,593 -23.7
Southern Derbyshire 6,322 4,796 -1,526 -24.1
Sunderland 4,889 3,707 -1,182 -24.2
South Tyneside 1,047 792 -255 -24.4
Worthing 3,756 2,809 -947 -25.2
Barnet 3,628 2,700 -928 -25.6
East Yorkshire 1,924 1,426 -498 -25.9
Doncaster 6,132 4,473 -1,659 -27.1
Gateshead 1,661 1,208 -453 -27.3
South Lincolnshire 4,428 3,209 -1,219 -27.5
Merton and Sutton 3,639 2,637 -1,002 -27.5
Sheffield 14,678 10,504 -4,174 -28.4
Central Nottinghamshire 7,154 5,118 -2,036 -28.5
Basingstoke and North Hampshire 3,698 2,615 -1,083 -29.3
Croydon 3,093 2,178 -915 -29.6
Newcastle 11,524 8,041 -3,483 -30.2
South East Kent 3,946 2,752 -1,194 -30.3
South Cumbria 1,152 803 -349 -30.3
Mid Staffordshire 2,440 1,692 -748 -30.7
Wandsworth 3,239 2,240 -999 -30.8
Warrington 3,037 2,093 -944 -31.1
Walsall 3,324 2,219 -1,105 -33.2
West Cumbria 1,870 1,240 -630 -33.7
Dudley 5,441 3,465 -1,976 -36.3
Barnsley 3,934 2,503 -1,431 -36.4
Bury 979 616 -363 -37.1
Tameside and Glossop 2,866 1,800 -1,066 -37.2
West Wiltshire and Bath 8,079 5,037 -3,042 -37.7
Hartlepool 1,841 1,135 -706 -38.3
Tunbridge Wells 6,220 3,790 -2,430 -39.1
North Manchester 4,726 2,857 -1,869 -39.5
Solihull 2,278 1,359 -919 -40.3
Central Birmingham 7,635 4,453 -3,182 -41.7
North West Durham 1,325 759 -566 -42.7
North Tyneside 1,721 984 -737 -42.8
Coventry 8,759 4,999 -3,760 -42.9
North Bedfordshire 2,657 1,485 -1,172 -44.1
Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale 3,542 1,973 -1,569 -44.3
Aylesbury Vale1 6,450 3,541 -2,909 -45.1
Camberwell 3,388 1,829 -1,559 -46.0
Southmead 2,958 1,560 -1,398 -47.3
Huddersfield 3,308 1,728 -1,580 -47.8
Scunthorpe 4,609 2,367 -2,242 -48.6
East Birmingham 4,600 2,353 -2,247 -48.8
Nottingham 10,988 5,618 -5,370 -48.9
Northampton 6,793 3,444 -3,349 -49.3
South Sefton 6,332 3,206 -3,126 -49.4
South Tees 10,319 5,075 -5,244 -50.8
Newham 2,222 1,057 -1,165 -52.4
Frenchay 5,855 2,751 -3,104 -53.0
North West Hertfordshire 2,697 1,196 -1,501 -55.7
East Hertfordshire 1,847 786 -1,061 -57.4
Haringey 1,708 722 -986 -57.7
Grimsby 2,355 980 -1,375 -58.4
North Tees 1,958 814 -1,144 -58.4
Dewsbury 1,181 476 -705 -59.7
North Birmingham3 2,723 1,070 -1,653 -60.7
Macclesfield 2,302 612 -1,690 -73.4
The Eastman Dental Hospital4 .. 169 n/a n/a
1 The waiting list for Milton Keynes was formerly held by Aylesbury Vale Health Authority but was taken over by Milton Keynes Health Authority in 1984 following the development of Milton Keynes General Hospital. The table shows a comparable reduction in the Aylesbury

Vale figures.

2The waiting list figures for March 1987 are affected by the transfer of Black Notley Hospital from the North East Essex District to Mid Essex DHA on 1 April 1986.

3Five hospitals were transferred from North Birmingham DHA to South East Staffordshire DHA in 1986.

4In September 1982 the data for The Eastman Dental Hospital was collected by another unit.

Mr. Dobson

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, in future, he will include national tables in the summary volume of hospital in-patient waiting lists; and if he will place such tables relating to September 1987 in the Library.

Mr. Mellor

National figures are published in statistical bulletins. The bulletin for September 1987 was published on 27 April 1988 and that for March 1988 on 26 October 1988. Copies were placed in the Library.

Mr. Dobson

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library the national, regional and district summaries for the hospital in-patient waiting list for March 1988.

Mr. Mellor

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 3 November at column753.