Chamber and committees

The regulation and safety of medicines is reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines Control Agency (MCA).Since 1 July 1999, the Executive has received 14 letters from MSPs and members of the public about Seroxat. These were answered on the basis of information supplied by the MCA.The answer given to question S1W-30722 on 28 October 2002 gives further information about the advice available to prescribers about the use of Seroxat. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Seroxat is a prescription-only medicine available on the NHS.

The regulation and safety of medicines is reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines Control Agency (MCA). The MCA has online access to the World Health Organisation data on adverse drug reactions and routinely evaluates these data.

All licensed medicines have an approved Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC), a document which is in the public domain and is provided to doctors and pharmacists. In addition, the patient information leaflet supplied with the medicine reflects the information that is in the SPC.

As with all medicines, the decision whether or not to prescribe a treatment for an individual patient depends on the clinical judgement of the doctor concerned, in consultation with the patient and bearing in mind the risks and benefits of the treatment.

The length of time taken to approve an application varies between cases. It depends on such things as whether the applicant is an owner-occupier or private tenant, in which case the landlord's permission must be sought. The length of time between an application being approved and the central heating going in also varies between cases. It depends on such things as whether a new fuel type has been chosen, in which case planning permission may be required before it can be provided. In all cases the number of central heating systems installed each year is dependent on the budget for the programme.

There are no figures on the length of time between an application being lodged and approved. The average length of time between an application being approved and central heating being installed is currently around six months.

I have explained the factors which determine how quickly an application is dealt with in the answer given to question S1W-30997 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30583 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

The Executive believes that complementary or alternative therapies may offer relief to some people suffering from a wide variety of conditions. There is no legislative bar to prevent practitioners of such therapies from offering their services, subject only to some general restrictions such as those on prescribing and supplying medicines and giving injections. A GP or hospital clinician may refer a patient for alternative treatment, but would require to be satisfied of the value of the treatment and the competence of the practitioner and would remain responsible for the patient's medical care. It is also open to NHS boards or trusts to provide complementary or alternative therapies from the funding made available to them by the Executive, based on their assessments of local needs.