Prescriptions

HC Deb 09 July 2002 vol 388 cc931-3W

Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions of(a) dextroamphetamine saccharate, (b) amphetamine aspartate, (c) dextroamphetamine sulfate and (d) amphetamine sulfate (dexidrine) were issued in each of the last five years for (i) attention deficit disorder and (ii) attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder dispensed in the community broken down by (a) health authority and (b) region. [63813]

Jacqui Smith

[holding answer 24 June 2002]: We have no prescribing records for drugs named dextroamphetamine saccharate and amphetamine aspartate. Amphetamine sulfate (dexidrine) was last prescribed in the community in 1997 when two items were dispensed.

Information on the prescribing of dexamphetamine sulphate, for all treatment uses, is shown in the table. Information prior to 1999 is not available.

Number of prescription items dispensed in the community in England for dexamphetamine sulphate by health authorities and regions, 1999 to 2001
Prescription items (thousands)
Health authority and region1	1999	2000	2001
Eastern region
Bedfordshire	1.2	0.8	0.6
Cambridgeshire	2.6	2.4	2.2
Hertfordshire	0.8	0.8	0.8
Norfolk	0.9	0.9	1.0
North Essex	0.6	0.6	0.6
South Essex	1.0	0.8	0.8
Suffolk	1.5	1.3	1.2
Total for Eastern region	8.6	7.5	7.2
London region
Barking and Havering	0.3	0.3	0.3
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey	0.5	0.5	0.6
Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich	0.6	0.7	0.7
Brent and Harrow	0.8	0.8	0.7
Camden and Islington	1.2	1.2	0.9
Croydon	0.4	0.3	0.3
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow	0.7	0.9	0.8
East London and the City	0.6	0.5	0.5
Hillingdon	0.2	0.2	0.2
Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster	1.1	1.1	1.0
Kingston and Richmond	0.3	0.3	0.3
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham	0.8	0.8	0.7
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth	0.6	0.5	0.4
Redbridge and Waltham Forest	0.4	0.5	0.5
Total for London region	8.4	8.6	8.0
North West region
Bury and Rochdale	1.9	1.0	0.9
East Lancashire	1.6	1.5	1.6
Liverpool	0.2	0.2	0.1
Manchester	4.3	1.8	2.4
Morecambe Bay	0.3	0.4	0.4
North Cheshire	0.3	0.2	0.2
North West Lancashire	1.4	0.7	0.6
Salford and Trafford	1.8	0.9	1.0
Sefton	0.2	0.2	0.2
South Cheshire	0.3	0.4	0.4
South Lancashire	0.7	0.2	0.2
St. Helens and Knowsley	0.2	0.1	0.1
Stockport	0.4	0.2	0.2
West Pennine	0.9	0.4	0.4
Wigan and Bolton	1.6	1.5	1.2
Wirral	0.2	0.2	0.3
Total for North West region	16.4	9.8	10.1
Northern and Yorkshire region
Bradford	0.5	0.5	0.4
Calderdale and Kirklees	0.7	0.8	0.7
County Durham and Darlington	0.3	0.3	0.4
East Riding and Hull	0.3	0.3	0.2
Gateshead and South Tyneside	0.2	0.2	0.2
Leeds	0.4	0.4	0.4
Newcastle and North Tyneside	0.9	0.5	0.4
North Cumbria	0.2	0.2	0.2
North Yorkshire	0.5	0.5	0.5
Northumberland	0.1	0.1	0.2
Sunderland	0.1	0.1	0.1
Tees	0.3	0.4	0.4
Wakefield	0.3	0.3	0.3
Total for Northern and Yorkshire region	4.7	4.5	4.3
South East region
Berkshire	0.5	0.7	0.7
Buckinghamshire	1.1	0.9	0.9
East Kent	1.0	1.1	1.0
East Surrey	0.2	0.3	0.2
East Sussex, Brighton and Hove	1.1	1.2	1.0

Number of prescription items dispensed in the community in England for dexamphetamine sulphate by health authorities and regions, 1999 to 2001
Prescription items (thousands)
Health authority and region1	1999	2000	2001
Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire	4.5	1.3	1.3
North and Mid Hampshire	0.9	1.1	1.1
Northamptonshire	0.5	0.4	0.3
Oxfordshire	0.5	0.5	0.4
Southampton and South West Hampshire	4.3	2.9	2.3
West Kent	1.4	1.4	1.4
West Surrey	0.6	0.7	0.8
West Sussex	1.1	1.1	0.9
Total for South East region	17.9	13.2	12.2
South West region
Avon	0.7	0.5	0.5
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	3.0	2.7	2.5
Dorset	0.7	0.9	0.9
Gloucestershire	0.7	0.7	0.6
North and East Devon	2.1	1.4	0.7
Somerset	0.5	0.8	1.1
South and West Devon	1.5	1.4	0.9
Wiltshire	1.0	0.8	0.8
Total for South West region	10.1	9.3	8.2
Trent region
Barnsley	0.1	0.1	0.1
Doncaster	0.5	0.5	0.5
Leicestershire	0.9	0.8	0.7
Lincolnshire	0.6	0.8	0.8
North Derbyshire	0.2	0.2	0.3
North Nottinghamshire	0.2	0.3	0.3
Nottingham	0.4	0.4	0.4
Rotherham	0.1	0.1	0.1
Sheffield	0.9	0.9	1.0
South Humber	0.2	0.2	0.2
South Derbyshire	0.6	0.6	0.4
Total for Trent region	4.8	5.0	4.8
West Midlands region
Birmingham	9.8	11.2	11.2
Coventry	0.9	0.7	0.8
Dudley	0.4	0.3	0.2
Herefordshire	0.1	0.1	0.1
North Staffordshire	0.3	0.3	0.2
Sandwell	0.7	0.6	0.5
Shropshire	0.2	0.2	0.2
Solihull	0.2	0.2	0.2
South Staffordshire	0.7	0.5	0.7
Walsall	1.1	1.3	1.1
Warwickshire	0.7	0.6	0.6
Wolverhampton	3.1	0.8	0.6
Worcestershire	1.2	1.3	1.0
Total for West Midlands region	19.4	18.1	17.5
England	90.2	76.0	72.3
1 In which prescription items were dispensed.

Notes:

1. Dexamphetamine sulphate is defined within the British National Formulary (BNF) section 4.4, central nervous system stimulants.

2. The data are from the Prescription Cost Analysis system and cover all prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors in England. The system covers prescriptions originating from general practices and also those written by nurses.