PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
PRESCRIPTION FRAUD (24 June 1997)

That this House recognises that the overwhelming majority of doctors, pharmacists and patients in the NHS are thoroughly honest and is proud of them; nevertheless is appalled at the revelation by the NHS Executive that the amount of money lost through prescription fraud by a tiny minority is thought to be around ú100 million a year - on average, ú1 million per health authority; believes that prescriptions are a vital part of the NHS care and that those that are exploiting the system are not only cheating taxpayers, but also depriving patients of the care that they need; notes that if every health authority was able to spend an extra ú1 million on patient care, each authority could carry out an extra 145 heart bypass operations, or an extra 689 cataract operations or an extra 222 hip replacements or an extra 65 kidney transplants; and welcomes the prompt action taken by the Government to begin the fightback against the fraudsters.

Sponsored by:
Stephen Twigg (Labour)