HC Deb 01 February 1999 vol 324 cc522-3W
Mr. Peter Bradley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when arrangements were introduced through which general practitioners may earn additional income related to the volume and costs of drugs they dispense. [68448]

Mr. Denham

Payments to general practitioners in respect of practice dispensing have included arrangements to reflect the volume and cost of the drugs since the inception of the National Health Service.

The level of fees and allowances payable to GPs are set by the independent pay review body to deliver and distribute their recommended level of net incomes for GPs, taking account of the costs, pressures and workload of practice in different areas. Earnings from practice dispensing are an integral part of the overall recommendations of the review body.

Mr. Peter Bradley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of GPs dispense drugs. [68443]

Mr. Denham

Based on October 1997 data, some 16 per cent. of general practitioners in England are dispensing doctors.

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