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 assessment he has made of the potential merits of adaptive licensing or early access schemes (a) in the UK and (b) across the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Norman Lamb
The potential merits and impact of adaptive licensing and early access to medicine schemes were considered by the Expert Group on innovation in the regulation of healthcare that was established in June 2012 following the Prime Minister's 2011 Life Science Strategy. The Expert Group was composed of a range of experts from government, industry, patient and health professional stakeholders.
In their 2013 report, the group welcomed the proposal for the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS), for highly promising unlicensed medicinal products in areas of high unmet medical need, and urged the Government to introduce it as soon as possible. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency launched the EAMS on 7 April 2014.
On adaptive licensing, the group saw opportunities for more use of the existing legal flexibilities to facilitate patient access to innovative products. The Group urged for the pilot on adaptive licensing by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to be launched at the earliest opportunity.
The EMA published its adaptive licensing pilot project on 19 March. The Government sees this pilot as a test for current licensing flexibilities and the methodology of adaptive licensing. We welcome the pilot and will continue to be actively engaged in the debate in Europe.
A copy of the report of the Expert Group on innovation in the regulation of healthcare has been placed in the Library.
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 data on prescriptions dispensed in hospitals is collected centrally.
Answered by Norman Lamb
There are various sources of data on medicines in hospitals. The Health and Social Care Information Centre publishes annually the document Hospital Prescribing: England, the latest copy of which is available at:
www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB12651
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 data his Department collects on prescriptions dispensed to prisoners.
Answered by Norman Lamb
Information on the number of prisoners who are prescribed a particular medicine or class of medicine is not collected centrally, nor are data held relating to prescription items dispensed in prisons.
NHS England commissions all pharmacy services in prisons in England. It is responsible for the quality of service and for ensuring that good practice guidelines are followed in relation to the prescribing, safe use and treatment following withdrawal of psychotropic drugs treatments, including benzodiapines and Z-drugs. Where healthcare professionals have concerns about prescribing decisions in relation to psychotropic drug treatment in prisons, they should record these as medication safety incidents and report them to the local medicines management committee for possible further investigation. NHS England commissioners also require healthcare providers to report these incidents in patient safety contract monitoring.
Prison pharmacy services currently follow guidelines set out in A Pharmacy Service for Prisoners, issued by the Department in 2003. NHS England is currently reviewing this guidance, and updated guidance will be published in due course. A copy of the current guidance has already been placed in the Library.
Detailed guidance on benzodiazepine detoxification for prisoners is included in Clinical Management of Drug Dependence in the Adult Prison Setting, published by the Department in 2006. A copy has already been placed in the Library. Clinicians are expected to follow this and other relevant guidance such as that published by the Royal College of General Practitioners' Secure Environments Group on Safer Prescribing in Prisons.
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, which protocols are used in hospitals for withdrawal treatment following long and short-term use of benzodiaepines and Z-drugs.
Answered by Norman Lamb
NHS England works with system partners, including training agencies, professional bodies and professional regulators to urge that staff, including those working in hospitals, are appropriately trained, supervised and appraised to monitor practice. In mental health, NHS England is exploring how to modernise the electronic care records system so that it is easier for appropriate prescribing and monitoring to be undertaken.
The Secretary of State and NHS England would also expect hospitals to take account of relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.
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 steps his Department takes to prevent to over-prescribing of psychotropic drugs in hospitals.
Answered by Norman Lamb
NHS England works with system partners, including training agencies, professional bodies and professional regulators to urge that staff, including those working in hospitals, are appropriately trained, supervised and appraised to monitor practice. In mental health, NHS England is exploring how to modernise the electronic care records system so that it is easier for appropriate prescribing and monitoring to be undertaken.
The Secretary of State and NHS England would also expect hospitals to take account of relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.
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 steps his Department is taking to prevent over-prescribing or mis-prescribing of psychotropic drugs to prisoners.
Answered by Norman Lamb
Information on the number of prisoners who are prescribed a particular medicine or class of medicine is not collected centrally, nor are data held relating to prescription items dispensed in prisons.
NHS England commissions all pharmacy services in prisons in England. It is responsible for the quality of service and for ensuring that good practice guidelines are followed in relation to the prescribing, safe use and treatment following withdrawal of psychotropic drugs treatments, including benzodiapines and Z-drugs. Where healthcare professionals have concerns about prescribing decisions in relation to psychotropic drug treatment in prisons, they should record these as medication safety incidents and report them to the local medicines management committee for possible further investigation. NHS England commissioners also require healthcare providers to report these incidents in patient safety contract monitoring.
Prison pharmacy services currently follow guidelines set out in A Pharmacy Service for Prisoners, issued by the Department in 2003. NHS England is currently reviewing this guidance, and updated guidance will be published in due course. A copy of the current guidance has already been placed in the Library.
Detailed guidance on benzodiazepine detoxification for prisoners is included in Clinical Management of Drug Dependence in the Adult Prison Setting, published by the Department in 2006. A copy has already been placed in the Library. Clinicians are expected to follow this and other relevant guidance such as that published by the Royal College of General Practitioners' Secure Environments Group on Safer Prescribing in Prisons.
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, which protocols are used in prisons for withdrawal of treatment following long and short-term use of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs.
Answered by Norman Lamb
Information on the number of prisoners who are prescribed a particular medicine or class of medicine is not collected centrally, nor are data held relating to prescription items dispensed in prisons.
NHS England commissions all pharmacy services in prisons in England. It is responsible for the quality of service and for ensuring that good practice guidelines are followed in relation to the prescribing, safe use and treatment following withdrawal of psychotropic drugs treatments, including benzodiapines and Z-drugs. Where healthcare professionals have concerns about prescribing decisions in relation to psychotropic drug treatment in prisons, they should record these as medication safety incidents and report them to the local medicines management committee for possible further investigation. NHS England commissioners also require healthcare providers to report these incidents in patient safety contract monitoring.
Prison pharmacy services currently follow guidelines set out in A Pharmacy Service for Prisoners, issued by the Department in 2003. NHS England is currently reviewing this guidance, and updated guidance will be published in due course. A copy of the current guidance has already been placed in the Library.
Detailed guidance on benzodiazepine detoxification for prisoners is included in Clinical Management of Drug Dependence in the Adult Prison Setting, published by the Department in 2006. A copy has already been placed in the Library. Clinicians are expected to follow this and other relevant guidance such as that published by the Royal College of General Practitioners' Secure Environments Group on Safer Prescribing in Prisons.
Asked by: Eric Ollerenshaw (Conservative - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many individuals applied to have their licences restored following the voluntary or enforced revocation of a driving licence on medical grounds in the most recent period for which figures are available; what the average timescale was for an application to be decided in that period; and how many requests were outstanding.
Answered by Stephen Hammond
The tables below show the number of drivers that have voluntarily surrendered, or had their driving licence refused/ revoked on medical grounds, during 2013 and since applied to restore their licence and the average timescale for processing these applications: