§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children prescribed methylphenidate for severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have been regularly monitored to assess improvement in the last year. [127096]
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§ Dr. LadymanThis information is not collected centrally. In 2000 the National Institute for Clinical Excellence looked at the use of methvlphenidate in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Among other recommendations it concluded that
Methylphenidate should be used as part of a comprehensive treatment programme for children with a diagnosis of severe ADHD;Children on drug therapy should receive regular monitoring;Methylphenidate should be discontinued if improvement of symptoms is not observed after appropriate dose adjustment over one month; andTreatment should be initiated by specialists but general practitioners may be involved in continued prescribing and monitoring under shared care arrangements.