HC Deb 27 July 1989 vol 157 cc909-10W
Mr. Thornton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those factors that family practitioner committees will take into account in deciding whether a general practitioner is justified in exceeding his indicative drugs budget.

Mr. Mellor

A GP practice will be considered justified in exceeding its indicative drug budget if this should prove necessary to provide patients with the drugs they need.

Mr. Thornton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sanctions regional health authorities will he able to impose should the majority of general practitioners in all or any of their family practitioner committee areas overspend their drugs budgets.

Mr. Mellor

Those GPs who overspend their indicative budgets will face disciplinary proceedings only as a last resort and solely when there is clear evidence of over-prescribing which, by definition, would be to the detriment of their patients.

Mr. Thornton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the allocation of drugs budgets to regional health authorities under the reorganisation of the National Health Service will be fixed.

Mr. Mellor

Each year each regional health authority will be allocated a firm budget to cover expenditure on medicines in the family practitioner services within the region. The budgets will be set at sensible and realistic levels to ensure that patients receive the medicines they need and that medicines will be paid for at reasonable prices.

Mr. Thornton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether, in his proposals for the National Health Service, the allocation of drugs budgets by regional health authorities to family practitioner committees will be in the form of a fixed amount of indicative spending limits.

Mr. Mellor

Regional health authorities will allocate their firm budgets for actual expenditure on medicines among their family practitioner committees (FPCs) which will in turn determine individual FPCs' overall indicative prescribing budgets.

Mr. Thornton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether, in his proposals to reorganise the National Health Service, he intends to fix a cash limit for the drugs budget of the family practitioner services; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Mellor

The financial arrangements for drug budgets are set out in working paper 4 of the NHS review series "Indicative Prescribing Budgets for General Medical Pracititioners". The precise mechanisms are still under consideration.