Asked by: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) children were admitted to hospital for drug poisoning, showing ICD10 codes T36-T50 separately, at a four character level in 2014.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The information requested is attached. It provides a count of the number of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis of T36-T50 for male and female adults and children for the year 2013-14. Explanatory footnotes have also been provided.
It should be noted that this is not a count of patients as the same patient may have been admitted more than once in a year.
Asked by: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the General Practice Research Database includes data on the prescribing of tranquillisers; and if he will use this database to calculate the number of patients with a long-term dependency on tranquillisers.
Answered by George Freeman
The CPRD GOLD primary care database (former GPRD) includes information about all prescriptions issued in primary care for a subset of approximately 8% of the United Kingdom population. This database has previously been used to study prescribing of anxiolytic, hypnotic and psychotropic medication, commonly referred to as tranquilisers.
It would be possible to use the database to estimate the number of patients in the UK with a long-term dependency on prescription tranquilisers. However, as dependence will not be systematically identified by general practitioners, expert clinician advice would also be required to develop a definition. This could be based on frequency of prescribing and medication strength but could also include clinical codes for medical conditions including indications for these products, drug dependency and substance abuse, if recorded.
This work would represent a research project and as such, a scientific protocol would need to be submitted to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s Independent Scientific Advisory Committee for assessment and possible approval.
Even with such an approach, the rate of drug dependency in the population could only be estimated, and in order to assess whether this estimate was a true representation of the actual rate of drug dependency in this population, a validation study would be encouraged.
The Department is looking into the feasibility of commissioning further research on patterns of long-term prescription of dependency-forming medicines, including analyses of relevant prescribing data.
Asked by: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS patients are taking benzodiazepines; and if he will estimate how many such patients are taking that medication for more than the recommended time of four weeks.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The public health responsibilities which were transferred to local authorities by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 include the commissioning of specialist treatment for people who are dependent on drugs including prescribed medicines. The responsibility of clinical commissioning groups in this area is medicines management, which includes ensuring good prescribing practice, ensuring that prescribers are supported to manage withdrawal in non-complex cases and facilitating referral to specialist help where appropriate.
Public Health England (PHE) is supporting several local authorities that have expressed an interest in developing their support for people affected by addictions to medicines. This pathfinder work is locally designed and led.
PHE is assisting each area to develop their work plans, establish management, monitoring and oversight as well as working with them to ensure that appropriate clinical governance is in place. It will subsequently work with them to support delivery and monitor outcomes.
Information is not held centrally on the number of people prescribed particular medicines or the duration of treatment.
Asked by: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made by Public Health England on the commissioning of addiction to medicines pilot projects.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The public health responsibilities which were transferred to local authorities by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 include the commissioning of specialist treatment for people who are dependent on drugs including prescribed medicines. The responsibility of clinical commissioning groups in this area is medicines management, which includes ensuring good prescribing practice, ensuring that prescribers are supported to manage withdrawal in non-complex cases and facilitating referral to specialist help where appropriate.
Public Health England (PHE) is supporting several local authorities that have expressed an interest in developing their support for people affected by addictions to medicines. This pathfinder work is locally designed and led.
PHE is assisting each area to develop their work plans, establish management, monitoring and oversight as well as working with them to ensure that appropriate clinical governance is in place. It will subsequently work with them to support delivery and monitor outcomes.
Information is not held centrally on the number of people prescribed particular medicines or the duration of treatment.
Asked by: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy that it be mandatory for clinical commissioning groups to commission services to support patients withdrawing from prescribed medicines; and what criteria are used for deciding whether services should be mandatory.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The public health responsibilities which were transferred to local authorities by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 include the commissioning of specialist treatment for people who are dependent on drugs including prescribed medicines. The responsibility of clinical commissioning groups in this area is medicines management, which includes ensuring good prescribing practice, ensuring that prescribers are supported to manage withdrawal in non-complex cases and facilitating referral to specialist help where appropriate.
Public Health England (PHE) is supporting several local authorities that have expressed an interest in developing their support for people affected by addictions to medicines. This pathfinder work is locally designed and led.
PHE is assisting each area to develop their work plans, establish management, monitoring and oversight as well as working with them to ensure that appropriate clinical governance is in place. It will subsequently work with them to support delivery and monitor outcomes.
Information is not held centrally on the number of people prescribed particular medicines or the duration of treatment.
Asked by: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NHS England to publish the third quarter figures for Cancer Drugs Fund notifications and individual Cancer Drugs Fund requests for 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Freeman
NHS England has advised that it expects to publish the third quarter figures for Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) notifications and individual CDF requests for 2014-15 on its website at: www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/ by the end of February 2015.
Since October 2010, over 60,000 patients in England have benefitted from the CDF.
Asked by: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will direct the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to amend its drug approval system to ensure (a) more cancer drugs and (b) more drugs for cancers of unmet need pass its appraisal process.
Answered by George Freeman
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) plays a vital role in ensuring that National Health Service resources deliver the maximum benefit to patients and it has helped to secure access to clinically and cost effective drugs and treatments for many thousands of patients, including those with cancer. NICE is an independent body and is responsible for the development of its methods and processes.
The Government has announced an external review of the pathways for the development, assessment and adoption of innovative medicines and medical technologies. This review will consider how to speed up access for NHS patients to cost-effective new diagnostics, medicines and devices.