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Prescriptions

Volume 204: debated on Tuesday 25 February 1992

The text on this page has been created from Hansard archive content, it may contain typographical errors.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for each NHS region and health district what was (a) the total number of prescriptions and (b) the total number of prescriptions that incurred charges in 1988 and 1991; and if he will express the latter as a percentage of the former.

Information for 1988–89 is not available. Information for the financial years 1989–90 and 1990–91 is in the table.

FPC Name

1989–90

1990–91

Total

Chargeable

Percentage

Total

Chargeable

Percentage

Doncaster2,765,903387,15214·02,836,161369,28213·0
Rotherham2,082,331292,40614·02,107,267278,73313·2
Sheffield4,817,349654,62513·64,893,289626,02812·8
Trent35,411,7755,857,36316·536,137,3525,592,38615·5
Cambridgeshire3,480,702725,80520·93,622,234702,20219·4
Norfolk4,047,224743,35718·44,230,216731,16017·3
Suffolk3,476,437696,21420·03,567,657673,42018·9
East Anglia11,004,3632,165,37619·711,420,1072,106,78218·4
Bedfordshire3,340,943691,35020·73,385,068657,86719·4
Hertfordshire6,321,2761,469,87523·36,453,7171,415,25221·9
Barnet2,048,821396,54919·42,075,473381,75318·4
Brent and Harrow3,245,635612,33518·93,287,635576,91617·5
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow4,693,664896,90619·14,741,660841,15117·7
Hillingdon1,700,576369,25521·71,721,949350,92820·4
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster2,358,714655,21127·82,361,988623,92926·4
North West Thames23,709,6295,091,48121·524,027,4904,847,79720·2
Essex9,874,4032,043,22120·710,132,7921,961,06519·4
Barking and Havering2,801,735537,11719·22,807,571499,23617·8
Camden and Islington2,555,908485,24719·02,570,372451,26317·6
City, Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets5,116,857698,19513·65,203,786643,29212·4
Enfield and Haringey3,151,598592,03318·83,253,609555,33117·1
Redbridge and Waltham Forest3,566,650645,39018·13,604,724604,85716·8
North East Thames27,067,1515,001,20318·527,572,8544,715,04417·1
East Sussex5,714,784929,08216·35,809,616889,04415·3
Kent10,708,3542,068,88419·310,906,4311,983,98418·2
Bexley and Greenwich3,090,571579,47118·73,122,385539,13217·3
Bromley1,975,701425,86921·62,008,178410,92720·5
Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark5,171,672832,86316·15,269,598780,60114·8
South East Thames26,661,0824,836,16918·127,116,2084,603,68817·0
Surrey6,287,8511,526,64724·36,377,6591,474,50623·1
West Sussex4,985,936906,32918·25,077,230874,14917·2
Croydon2,117,939452,52321·42,132,843429,60720·1
Kingston and Richmond2,076,122475,68322·92,079,613459,07722·1
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth4,146,503800,26319·34,221,855774,85118·4
South West Thames19,614,3514,161,44421·219,889,2004,012,19020·2
Dorset5,060,355815,04216·15,205,630784,24915·1
Hampshire10,620,0142,163,58320·410,871,5952,095,59319·3
Wiltshire3,370,352712,10921·13,444,502692,62320·1
Isle of Wight1,003,261162,15416·21,027,719157,99715·4
Wessex20,053,9823,852,88919·220,549,4463,730,46218·2
Berkshire4,510,7791,117,37624·84,625,9411,081,87323·4
Buckinghamshire3,656,942895,19124·53,742,879863,28123·1
Northamptonshire3,592,195740,77620·63,676,666713,41519·4
Oxfordshire2,752,473671,79324·42,826,551653,24623·1
Oxford14,512,3893,425,13523·614,872,0373,311,81622·3
Avon6,390,5961,257,30119·76,502,1701,207,80118·6
Cornwall3,078,878481,93215·73,180,072465,61414·6
Devon7,633,7691,223,81616·07,848,6511,188,22615·1
Gloucestershire3,087,228642,12220·83,158,325626,20619·8
Somerset2,943,809541,79618·43,009,379524,53317·4
South Western23,134,2804,146,96617·923,698,5974,012,37916·9
Hereford and Worcestershire4,113,740812,68319·84,203,161793,45218·9
Salop2,600,082466,42717·92,617,820450,26417·2
Staffordshire7,579,9511,422,49418·87,736,9861,364,35017·6
Warwickshire3,240,435639,08219·73,284,385611,94018·6
Birmingham9,288,0331,145,00912·39,401,6611,071,95911·4
Coventry2,731,192408,06214·92,735,711376,780138
Dudley2,324,858423,63318·22,349,260406,44717·3
Sandwell2,869,891392,39013·72,864,781357,59512·5

FPC Name1989–901990–91
TotalChargeablePercentageTotalChargeablePercentage
Solihull1,508,560298,74519·81,531,261285,52818·6
Walsall2,547,769370,23714·52,530,137341,67913·5
Wolverhampton2,273,563333,54714·72,272,690314,02613·8
West Midlands41,078,0746,712,30716·341,527,8536,374,02015·3
Cheshire7,447,8391,343,3511·807,617,1151,284,73916·9
Liverpool5,202,664451,9098·75,309,343418,9337·9
St. Helens and Knowsley3,517,069393,84211·23,628,178371,78310·2
Sefton2,887,641375,08413·02,961,666351,65811·9
Wirral3,263,855423,09813·03,344,633401,67212·0
Mersey22,319,0682,987,28413·422,860,9352,828,78412·4
Lancashire13,019,1221,927,03514·813,225,9191,833,96613·9
Bolton2,278,039346,80615·22,327,601331,37114·2
Bury1,709,275259,78215·21,743,156247,29814·2
Manchester4,466,316491,26411·04,512,237458,34410·2
Oldham2,094,502307,89514·72,139,172284,89513·3
Rochdale2,023,600275,25213·62,063,949259,19512·6
Salford2,505,149303,75912·12,534,318281,96511·1
Stockport2,433,369430,94117·72,475,952417,50916·9
Tameside2,003,432308,61515·42,036,652290,12214·2
Trafford2,192,308364,43816·62,233,437349,37915·6
Wigan2,912,792455,52715·62,948,785438,33814·9
North Western37,637,9045,471,31414·538,241,1785,192,38313·6
England356,364,09662,019,35917·4363,113,06059,301,07416·3

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a chronic asthmatic on invalidity benefit and in receipt of housing benefits and poll tax benefit but below pensionable age is entitled to free prescriptions.

Since 1968, when medical exemptions from prescription charges were first introduced, asthma has not been a condition which of itself attracts free prescriptions. The NHS low income scheme underpins wide-ranging exemption arrangements on grounds of health or status, thus ensuring that no one need be deterred from obtaining any necessary medication for financial reasons.As a result of the exemption and charge remission arrangements, coupled with the prescription prepayment certificate scheme, less than one item in six dispensed in the NHS attracts a charge. In 1991 100 million more items were dispensed free than in 1979, when one in three attracted a charge.