§ Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if her Department has finished its evaluation of the case for providing injection pens and special needles for availability on general practitioner prescription for diabetics; and if she will make a statement.
§ Dr. MawhinneyWe continue to consider the financial case for authorising general practitioners to prescribe insulin injection pens and needles for diabetics. Their inclusion in the GP prescribable list must, like other new additions to the list, be subject to the availability of resources.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost of(a) conventional syringes and needles for the injection of insulin, (b) the cost of insulin, (c) the cost of insulin injection pen systems and (d) the cost of needles for injection pen systems; and if she will make a statement.
§ Dr. MawhinneyPrescribable disposable syringes with needles cost £10.70 per 100. Disposable needles for use with syringes cost £2.20 per 100. A published cost is available for three makes of reusable pen injectors—£13.96, £18.40 and £23.86 each. The most commonly used pen needles cost £7.35 per 100, and retail at a recommended price of £9.80 per 100.
Insulin costs vary according to type and presentation. Insulin in vials for use with disposable syringes costs £0.67-£0.95 per ml; in cartridges £1.03-£1.13 per ml, for reusable pens and £1.80 per ml if the pen is disposable.