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Written question asked by Andrew Griffiths (Conservative) on Monday, 2 December 2013, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 5 December 2013 (named day). It was answered by Norman Lamb (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 5 December 2013 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Methylphenidate

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were issued for methylphenidate in (a) England and (b) the UK in each year since 1995.

Answer

Information on the number of prescriptions issued is not available, only on the number of prescription items written and dispensed. Dispensing information is held for England only. The following table provides the number of methylphenidate hydrochloride prescription items written in the United Kingdom and dispensed in the community in England, for each complete calendar year since 1995.

Number of methylphenidate hydrochloride prescription items written in the UK and dispensed in the community in England, 1995-2012
All methylphenidate hydrochloride listed in British National Formulary 4.4 “CNS stimulants and drugs used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” (thousand)1, 2
1995
 14.7
1996
 47.9
1997
 92.1
1998
 126.6
1999
 158.0
2000
 186.2
2001
 208.5
2002
 254.0
2003
 314.5
2004
 359.1
2005
 389.2
2006
 456.9
2007
 535.3
2008
 573.4
2009
 610.2
2010
 661.5
2011
 714.8
2012
 786.4
1 Methylphenidate is prescribed as methylphenidate hydrochloride.
2 Not all items dispensed will have been for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Some will have been for unlicensed indications; however, it is not possible to proportion this.
Source:
Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system, The Health and Social Care Information Centre, Prescribing and Primary Care Services. All rights reserved.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
179698; 571 cc799-800W
Session
2013-14
Subjects
Methylphenidate
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk