§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will set out for each year from 1979 the total number of prescriptions issued(a) by general practitioners and (b) by hospitals, showing, for each year and category, the number of prescriptions paid for by the recipient and the number exempt from payment, and showing, separately, the number in each category of exemption.
§ Dr. Mawhinney[holding answer 20 May 1992]: The available information is in the tables. Information about items prescribed by hospitals and dispensed by hospital pharmacists is not available.
307W
Exemption categories Year The young1 Retirement pensioners Family health service authority exempt2 NHS low income scheme charge remission War/service pensioners No declaration3 Declaration not specific4 Total all exemption categories 1988 40.6 142.6 21.0 36.4 0.9 17.9 4.0 263.5 1989 40.5 147.3 22.4 34.7 0.9 18.8 3.6 268.1 1990 40.0 153.2 23.5 36.4 0.9 19.5 3.4 276.9 1991 41.8 159.7 24.4 40.6 0.8 19.8 3.4 290.5 Notes: 1 Children under the age of 16 and young people under age 19 in full-time education. 2 Patients with specified medical conditions, pregnant women and nursing mothers. 3 Items for which patients indicated more than one Exemption category. 4 Block prescriptions for schools or institutions.