Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of people that have been prescribed sleeping pills in the last five years.
Answered by Will Quince
No estimate has been made as the information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making pre-exposure prophylaxis available as part of plans to make prescription medications accessible directly in community pharmacies.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made. As part of the HIV Action Plan, we committed to supporting the system to continue to improve access to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention drug pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for key population groups.
A PrEP Access and Equity Task and Finish group was established in 2022 as part of the HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group comprised of key delivery partners and sector stakeholders. The task and finish group has delivered recommendations on improving PrEP delivery for key population groups which are currently being considered.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2023 to Question 904619 on Prescription Drugs, how much money the Government raises net from the approximately 10 per cent of prescriptions which are charged at the point of use after the actual cost of processing prescription charges has been deducted.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The revenue generated from prescription charges in 2021/22 was £652 million. Processing costs are not separately identified as a matter of routine as these costs are incorporated into broader transaction processing costs between the NHS Business Services Authority and community pharmacy, therefore the net income after processing costs is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what provision is being made for immunocompromised people who are struggling financially from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its ongoing challenges for those still vulnerable to the virus; and how they will support those affected in the light of their prescription waiver on anti-viral drugs being withdrawn
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Treatments for COVID-19 are available free of charge on the National Health Service in England for eligible high-risk patients with a positive COVID-19 test result. In addition, the charge waiver will continue to apply to therapeutic treatments made available through the HEAL-COVID and STIMULATE-ICP trials.
There are also a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place, covering children, pregnant women, those over 60 years old, people on certain income related benefits or whose partner is in receipt of those benefits as well as those with specific medical conditions. Around 89% of prescription items are free on the NHS in England. On top of that, people on a low income can apply for support through the NHS Low Income Scheme, and all patients can also buy a pre-payment certificate which covers all the items they need for just over £2 per week.
Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the House of Commons Health Committee Report NHS Charges, published on 6 July 2006, that when the medical exemptions list was created in 1968, most babies born with Cystic Fibrosis did not live beyond childhood; and what assessment they have made of the case for extending eligibility for medical exemption certificates to patients with Cystic Fibrosis to access life-saving drugs.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The medical exemptions list was last reviewed in 2009, when cancer was added, and there are no plans to extend the prescription charge medical exemptions list to include cystic fibrosis. Approximately 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place, for which those with cystic fibrosis may meet the eligibility criteria and be in receipt of free prescriptions.
In addition, those on a low income can apply for additional support through the NHS Low Income Scheme. This provides both full and partial help with a range of health costs, not just prescription charges. Those who do not qualify for low-income help, may benefit from the purchase of a prescription pre-payment certificate. This caps the cost of prescriptions at £111.60 per year, helping people to get all the medicines they need for just over £2 a week.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
What steps he is taking to help ensure the affordability of prescription medicines.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
About nine out of ten prescription items are free on the NHS in England due to a range of prescription charge exemptions. These cover children, pregnant women, those over 60, people on certain income related benefits or whose partner is in receipt of those benefits – as well as those with specific medical conditions.
On top of that, people on a low income can apply for support through the NHS Low Income Scheme, and all patients can also buy a pre-payment certificate which covers all the items they need for just over £2 per week.
Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing a national online pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) service to make it easier for HIV negative people at risk of getting HIV to obtain repeat prescriptions.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the implementation of the HIV Action Plan, we are developing a plan to improve equitable access to human immunodeficiency (HIV) virus pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for key population groups and in settings outside of specialist sexual health services. Recommendations of the PrEP Access and Equity Task and Finish Group, including key stakeholder and delivery partners, are being considered by the HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group, and the plan will be made available in 2023.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse of repurposing unused prescribed medication.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England is leading a programme on medicines optimisation which aims to help patients to improve outcomes and safety, take medicines as intended, avoid taking unnecessary medicines and reduce wastage. For example, Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees were established in 2016 to support and optimise local prescribing practice and reduce unwarranted variation. Community pharmacies also offer the New Medicines Service, providing further support to patients newly prescribed certain medicines, and the Discharge Medicines Service, enabling hospitals to refer recently discharged patients to a community pharmacy for support with new medication.
Structured Medicine Reviews are offered by general practices (GPs) where increasingly pharmacists are part of multi-disciplinary teams to review patients’ medication, optimise medication and prevent wastage. In addition, electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) allows a GP to send repeat prescriptions to a patient’s pharmacy to manage the dispensing of the specific medicines required. As part of the eRD service, the pharmacy is required to make sure that the patient still needs all of their medicines and dispense to the patients only those that are needed.
In September 2021, the findings and recommendations of the national overprescribing review were published, setting out a series of practical and cultural changes necessary to ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatment for their needs while ensuring value for money.
All pharmacies must by law accept unwanted medicines from patients for disposal. However, the Department does not promote the reuse of medicines returned from patients. Where medicines have left a pharmacy, it is not possible to assure the quality of returned medicines on physical inspection alone. When medicines are returned from patients’ homes, there is no way of guaranteeing that the medicines have been stored or handled appropriately. This could affect patient safety. Therefore, no estimate of the potential savings of repurposing unused prescribed medication has been made.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that surplus prescribed medication is recycled.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England is leading a programme on medicines optimisation which aims to help patients to improve outcomes and safety, take medicines as intended, avoid taking unnecessary medicines and reduce wastage. For example, Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees were established in 2016 to support and optimise local prescribing practice and reduce unwarranted variation. Community pharmacies also offer the New Medicines Service, providing further support to patients newly prescribed certain medicines, and the Discharge Medicines Service, enabling hospitals to refer recently discharged patients to a community pharmacy for support with new medication.
Structured Medicine Reviews are offered by general practices (GPs) where increasingly pharmacists are part of multi-disciplinary teams to review patients’ medication, optimise medication and prevent wastage. In addition, electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) allows a GP to send repeat prescriptions to a patient’s pharmacy to manage the dispensing of the specific medicines required. As part of the eRD service, the pharmacy is required to make sure that the patient still needs all of their medicines and dispense to the patients only those that are needed.
In September 2021, the findings and recommendations of the national overprescribing review were published, setting out a series of practical and cultural changes necessary to ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatment for their needs while ensuring value for money.
All pharmacies must by law accept unwanted medicines from patients for disposal. However, the Department does not promote the reuse of medicines returned from patients. Where medicines have left a pharmacy, it is not possible to assure the quality of returned medicines on physical inspection alone. When medicines are returned from patients’ homes, there is no way of guaranteeing that the medicines have been stored or handled appropriately. This could affect patient safety. Therefore, no estimate of the potential savings of repurposing unused prescribed medication has been made.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the waste of prescription medicines.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England is leading a programme on medicines optimisation which aims to help patients to improve outcomes and safety, take medicines as intended, avoid taking unnecessary medicines and reduce wastage. For example, Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees were established in 2016 to support and optimise local prescribing practice and reduce unwarranted variation. Community pharmacies also offer the New Medicines Service, providing further support to patients newly prescribed certain medicines, and the Discharge Medicines Service, enabling hospitals to refer recently discharged patients to a community pharmacy for support with new medication.
Structured Medicine Reviews are offered by general practices (GPs) where increasingly pharmacists are part of multi-disciplinary teams to review patients’ medication, optimise medication and prevent wastage. In addition, electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) allows a GP to send repeat prescriptions to a patient’s pharmacy to manage the dispensing of the specific medicines required. As part of the eRD service, the pharmacy is required to make sure that the patient still needs all of their medicines and dispense to the patients only those that are needed.
In September 2021, the findings and recommendations of the national overprescribing review were published, setting out a series of practical and cultural changes necessary to ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatment for their needs while ensuring value for money.
All pharmacies must by law accept unwanted medicines from patients for disposal. However, the Department does not promote the reuse of medicines returned from patients. Where medicines have left a pharmacy, it is not possible to assure the quality of returned medicines on physical inspection alone. When medicines are returned from patients’ homes, there is no way of guaranteeing that the medicines have been stored or handled appropriately. This could affect patient safety. Therefore, no estimate of the potential savings of repurposing unused prescribed medication has been made.