§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many responses to the public consultation on eligibility for impotence treatments were(a) against and (b) in favour of the current restrictions in prescribing treatments. [13489]
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§ Ms BlearsWe received 220 responses from manufacturers, health professionals and patients. 202 expressed opposition to the current arrangements.
The current system was introduced in 1999 to get a balance between treating men with impotence and protecting national health service resources to deal with other priorities including those with cancer, heart disease and mental health problems. Expenditure on impotence treatment drugs, at £25 million a year, is above what we expected and continues to increase. We have concluded that the extra cost of allowing unrestricted prescribing might be substantially higher leading to diversion of funds from other NHS priorities.