§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions of orlistat were dispensed in(a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in each year since 1996. [177966]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe available information is shown in the tables.
Number of prescription items of Orlistat that have been prescribed in GP practices in England and dispensed in the community. Year (thousands) 1999 127.2 2000 155.7 2001 414.9 2002 540.2 2003 484.2
Strategic health authority (SHA) SHA in which Orlistat prescribed 2002 2003 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 17.7 17.0 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 15.4 13.2 Birmingham and The Black Country 24.1 23.1 Cheshire and Merseyside 31.1 28.0 County Durham and Tees Valley 16.2 15.3 Cumbria and Lancashire 24.3 21.1 Essex 13.6 10.8 Greater Manchester 37.3 36.7 Hampshire and Isle Of Wight 17.1 16.1 Kent and Medway 20.0 17.6 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 15.8 13.9 North and East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire 20.1 17.2 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 19.6 18.6 North Central London 10.4 10.1 North East London 13.9 11.9 North West London 14.9 12.8 Northumberland Tyne and Wear 20.2 18.9 Shropshire and Staffordshire 19.4 15.5 Somerset and Dorset 7.2 5.9 South East London 16.1 14.3 South West London 10.6 9.8 South West Peninsula 15.4 11.8 South Yorkshire 18.6 18.3 Surrey and Sussex 25.1 21.1 Thames Valley 16.3 14.8 Trent 33.9 29.1 West Midlands South 18.0 15.8 West Yorkshire 27.9 25.6 England Total 540.2 484.2 Notes:
1. This information was obtained from the prescribing analysis and cost (PACT) system. which covers prescriptions prescribed by GP practices in England and dispensed in the community. Prescriptions written in England but dispensed outside England are included. Prescriptions written within a GP practice but dispensed outside the SHA will be included in the SHA in which the GP practice is based. Prescriptions written in hospitals/clinics that are dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals and private prescriptions are not included in PACT data.
1283W2. Prescriptions are written on a prescription form. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item.
3. Orlistat is defined in the British National Formulary (BNF) section 4.5 "Drugs used in the treatment of obesity".
4. Data in the table are presented in thousands.
5. The sum of all SHAs does noi: equal the total England figure, because the total England figure includes unidentified doctors (those it is not possible for the Prescription Pricing Authority to allocate to a primary care trust).