§ 34. Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the prescribing of anti-impotence drugs on the NHS. [19689]
§ Jacqui SmithEarlier this year we held a public consultation about the arrangements governing eligibility for impotence treatments on the national health service. Expenditure on impotence treatments, at £25 million a year, is above what we expected and continues to increase. We concluded that the extra cost of allowing unrestricted prescribing might involve diversion of funds from other NHS priorities. Therefore we decided to maintain the restrictions introduced on 1 July 1999. To maintain a consistent approach the new drug treatment, Uprima, has been subject to the same restrictions since 1 November 2001.