Written question asked by David Howarth (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 24 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 29 March 2010. It was answered by Phil Hope (Labour) on Tuesday, 30 March 2010 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Pharmacy

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doses of medication were (a) received into pharmacies in and (b) prescribed in the adult custodial estate in England and Wales in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answer: This information is not collected centrally. The responsibility for commissioning offender health services in publicly run prisons in England has been fully devolved to national health service primary care trusts since 2006 and as such pharmacy services are commissioned locally.Local clinical audit and governance is in place for offender medication management as in the wider NHS.Responsibility for the commissioning and provision of health services for offenders in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government as it is for the population of Wales.

Secondary information