§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in England are being prescribed Seroxat in(a) under 20 mg doses, (b) 20 mg doses and (c) over 20 mg doses. [162559]
§ Dr. LadymanInformation is not available on the number of children who are prescribed Paroxetine Hydrochloride (Seroxat).
However, estimates of the number of prescription items of Paroxetine Hydrochloride that were dispensed in the community in England to children are available. These estimates show that in 2002 (the latest year for 932W which figures are available) around 43,000 prescription items of Paroxetine Hydrochloride were dispensed in the community to children. This accounts for about one per cent. of all prescription items of Paroxetine Hydrochloride that were dispensed in the community.
The estimate is derived from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system which covers all prescription items dispensed in the community in England. It does not include items dispensed in hospitals/clinics or private prescriptions. The estimate includes totals of prescription items for the chemical entity Paroxetine rather than Seroxat on its own, thus ensuring that any items dispensed generically are also included in the figures.
As with all prescription items, information on the dosage is not available.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are prescribed Seroxat in England; and what the number was in each of the last five years. [162562]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonInformation is not available in the requested format The number of prescription items of paroxetine (seroxat) dispensed in the community in England in each of the last five years is shown in the table.
Number of prescription items (millions) of Paroxetine (Seroxat) dispensed in the community in England, from 1998 Year Number of prescription items (millions) 1998 2.7 1999 3.1 2000 3.5 2001 3.8 2002 3.7 20031 2.2 Notes:
The data is from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system which covers ail prescription items dispensed in the community in England. It does not include items dispensed in hospitals/clinics or private prescriptions.Paroxetine (Seroxat) is a selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitor and is defined in the British National Formulary (BNF) paragraph 4.3.3.This data includes all items for the chemical entity Paroxetine; this includes the brand Seroxat and any generic prescriptions. Data for 2003 is January to September only.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of general practitioners prescribe Seroxat in doses larger than 20 mg. [162563]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonInformation is not available in the requested format .
In 2002, 80 per cent. of all paroxetine (Seroxat) prescription items that were dispensed in the community in England were for the 20 mg tablet and 18 per cent. were for the 30 mg tablet. However, it is not possible to link this data back to individuals or general practitioners, so we do not know what doses individuals have been prescribed. Therefore, it is not possible to infer the percents ge of practitioners prescribing paroxetine in doses larger than 20 mg from this information.