HC Deb 30 June 2003 vol 408 cc139-40W
Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs are permitted to prescribe(a) heroin and (b) methadone. [121840]

Miss Melanie Johnson

There are currently 112 general practitioners who are licensed to prescribe diamorphine in the United Kingdom.

Methadone can be prescribed by any doctor. This is subject to a doctor applying his/her professional judgment for a particular individual and his/her willingness to prescribe within the context in which he/she practices. The Department of Health's "Drug misuse and dependence—guidelines on clinical management" (1999) provides information about prescribing that doctors are expected to refer to.