§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of how much money would be saved by the NHS through earlier detection of cardiovascular disease if all men with erectile dysfunction sought treatment from their GP; [108163]
(2) what assessment he has made of the number of men estimated to have been deterred from seeking medical help for erectile dysfunction by the restrictions on GPs' ability to prescribe treatments; and if he will make a statement; [108165]
(3) what assessment he has made of the number of new cases of cardiovascular disease he would expect to be detected if the current restrictions on GPs' ability to prescribe treatments for erectile dysfunction were removed; [108164]
(4) what assessment he has made of the number of men estimated to have erectile dysfunction but unable to obtain treatments from GPs on the NHS because of the restrictions on GPs' ability to prescribe those treatments; [108167]
(5) what assessment he has made of the cost to the NHS of removing current restrictions on GPs' ability to prescribe treatments on the NHS to men with erectile dysfunction; [108168]
(6) what assessment he has made of the number of men with cardiovascular disease who are unable to obtain NHS treatments from GPs because of the restrictions on the GPs' ability to prescribe relevant treatments; and if he will make a statement. [108166]
§ Ms BlearsWe have made no such assessments, but the decision was taken to restrict the availability of treatments for erectile dysfunction on the national health service because of the high potential costs of providing these treatments and the consequent risk that resources might be diverted from other services such as cancer. Following a public consultation exercise undertaken in 2001 we estimated that the cost of removing the restrictions might be in the order of an additional £100 million a year.