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Opioid Prescriptions
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many opioid prescriptions were issued in the UK in each of the past ten years. [53197]
Ms Blears: Information for England is shown in the table. Information for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved Administrations.
| Number of prescription items | |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 3,444 |
| 1992 | 3,705 |
| 1993 | 3,946 |
| 1994 | 4,384 |
| 1995 | 4,918 |
| 1996 | 5,495 |
| 1997 | 6,096 |
| 1998 | 6,722 |
| 1999 | 7,336 |
| 2000 | 8,014 |
| 2001 | 8,766 |
Notes:
1. The prescription information was obtained from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community, i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Total prescriptions include not only prescriptions originating from general medical practitioners in England but also from hospital doctors, nurses, and dentists, provided they were dispensed in the community. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospital or private prescriptions.
2. Opioid analgesics are those drugs defined in the British National Formulary (BNF) paragraph 4.7.2, "Opioid analgesics". The opioid drugs used in substance dependence are contained within the BNF section 4.10, and are methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone.
Photodynamic Therapy
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 19 April 2002, Official Report, column 1240W, on photodynamic therapy, under what circumstances the NHS will charge patients for photodynamic therapy. [53649]
Ms Blears: Patients should not be charged for photodynamic therapy where it is being provided as an integral part of their national health service treatment.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is currently conducting an appraisal of photodynamic therapy. In the meantime, we have asked NHS bodies to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies where guidance from NICE is not available at the time the technology first became available. These arrangements should involve an assessment of all relevant factors including the available evidence on effect.
We are expecting NICE to issue guidance to the NHS in July 2002, providing there are no appeals.
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Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people who will go blind in each of the next four years whose sight could be saved by photodynamic therapy. [50058]
Ms Blears [holding answer 16 April 2002]: A study sponsored by the Macular Disease Society in 2001 estimated that there were 182,000 people with age-related macular degeneration with a best eye visual acuity below that judged appropriate for certification as blind or partially sighted. Around 10 to 15 per cent. of those will have the 'wet' type of the condition, for which photodynamic therapy is intended as a treatment. However, it is not possible to say in how many cases the treatment would be effective. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising the effectiveness of the treatment. We are expecting the NICE guidance to be issued to the national health service in July, providing there are no appeals.
Mixed Sex Wards
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mixed sex wards of eight or more there were in England on 1 April. [53365]
Ms Blears: The information is not available in the format requested.
It is the responsibility of each national health service trust to manage patient admissions in such a manner as to ensure that patient privacy is protected. Guidance on maintaining patient privacy and dignity was issued to the service in 1997 and since then the NHS has been working towards a clear target of eliminating mixed sex accommodation in 95 per cent. of trusts by December 2002.
Repair and Maintenance
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2002, Official Report, column 300W, what figures he collates on repair and maintenance of NHS estates, broken down by region, in each of the last five years. [53371]
Ms Blears: Figures for the repair and maintenance backlog costs for the national health service estate in England, broken down by region over the five years from 1996–97 to 2000–01, were reported in my response to the hon. Gentleman on 19 March 2002, Official Report, column 300W.
These are repeated in the following tables with figures for the year 2000–01 updated to reflect the outcome of recent data validation.
| Old region | 1996–97 | 1997–98 |
|---|---|---|
| Northern and Yorkshire | 387,253 | 427,819 |
| Trent | 211,042 | 234,193 |
| Anglia and Oxford | 240,769 | 288,228 |
| North Thames | 768,942 | 652,985 |
| South Thames | 370,659 | 357,978 |
| South West | 227,901 | 254,959 |
| West Midlands | 350,055 | 391,575 |
| North West | 266,485 | 291,981 |
| Total for England | 2,823,106 | 2,899,717 |
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| New region | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern and Yorkshire | 539,948 | 433,016 | 486,128 |
| Trent | 370,185 | 267,137 | 256,091 |
| Eastern | 262,662 | 267,398 | 177,968 |
| London | 832,901 | 796,949 | 708,697 |
| South Eastern | 383,660 | 409,228 | 401,196 |
| South West | 222,863 | 165,154 | 282,225 |
| West Midlands | 421,888 | 435,101 | 454,432 |
| North West | 336,944 | 334,241 | 387,131 |
| Total for England | 3,371,051 | 3,108,224 | 3,153,869 |
Drug Prescriptions
Dr. Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of each individual (a) benzodiazepine and (b) antidepressant was prescribed by doctors in England in 2001. [53516]
Ms Blears: The number of items for benzodiazepine and antidepressant drugs dispensed in the community by chemical entity is shown in the table.
Detailed information on individual preparations dispensed in the community is published in the publication "Prescription Cost Analysis: England 2001". The preparations are listed alphabetically within chemical entity by British National Formulary therapeutic class. A copy has been placed in the Library. The data are also available on the internet at www.doh.gov.uk/ prescriptionstatistics/index.htm.
Notes:
1. Data cover all prescriptions dispensed in the community, i.e. by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered. Information on items dispensed in hospitals is not available.
2. Benzodiazepines are contained within British National Formulary paragraphs 4.1.1, hypnotics and 4.1.2, anxiolitics. Benzodiazepines within 4.8.1, drugs used in the control of epilepsy, and 4.8.2, drugs used in status epilepticus, are also included as they too are used for anxiety relief. The therapeutic classifications are based on the British National Formulary No. 40, September 2000 version.
3. Antidepressant drugs are those defined in British National Formulary section 4.3, "antidepressant drugs". The therapeutic classifications are based on the British National Formulary No. 40, September 2000 version.
14 May 2002 : Column 626W
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