§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines have been provided to district health authorities and family health authorities in respect of which drugs should be(a) provided from hospital pharmacies and (b) prescribed by general practitioners; and under what circumstances a hospital pharmacy would refuse to provide a prescription in circumstances where a referral had been made from a general practitioner;
(2) if, in connection with the three-day rule for the prescriptions provided for patients discharged from hospital, he will indicate what regulations exist in respect of obtaining a continuation through the local general practitioner, taking into account weekends; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what exemptions exist to the restrictions placed on the prescribing of drugs from hospital pharmacies for those discharged from hospital treatment who are given a prescription for any three days prior to attending their local medical practice.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyIt has been the policy of successive Governments that responsibility for prescribing should rest with the doctor who has clinical responsibility for that particular aspect of an out-patient's treatment, whether that is the hospital consultant or the general practitioner. Where two doctors share care they should decide between them who should prescribe, bearing in mind the patient's best interests. A general practitioner may also ask advice on treatment from a consultant but still retain clinical, and hence prescribing, responsibility for the patient.
241WThere are no central rules on the quantity of a medicine to be supplied to a patient on discharge from hospital. Hospital out-patient prescribing policies are determined locally, but are expected to be consistent with the general policy on prescribing. We would expect out-patients on discharge to be supplied with a quantity of medicine which allows them sufficient time to make appointments with their general practitioners and enables a proper handover of the patient from the hospital to the general practitioner.
In accordance with working paper 4 of the National Health Service review series, regional health authorities have been asked to examine out-patient prescribing policies within their region, to take a view of what is properly hospital or general practitioner prescribing, and to establish budgets for their district health authorities and family health services authorities on the basis of conformity with the Government's policy.