It is not possible to monitor repeated use of Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) from data available centrally. EHC may be sold under the supervision of a pharmacist to women aged 16 and over without a prescription. Data on medicines purchased privately through community pharmacies without a prescription is not collected centrally.EHC remains available free of charge on NHS prescription. Data collected centrally on prescribed items dispensed in the community is not patient-specific.In all their actions, health professionals will have regard to issues of patient confidentiality.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23536.

The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) is the UK-wide medicines regulatory authority responsible for ensuring the safety, quality and efficacy of medicines available on the UK market.The MCA has advised that the decision to grant a marketing authorisation in the UK for a product containing levonorgestrel 0.75 mg (emergency hormonal contraceptive) followed advice from the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) who were satisfied as to the product's safety, quality and efficacy. The evidence considered by the CSM included two World Health Organisation sponsored pivotal studies. One study involving approximately 2,000 women in 14 countries including the UK, has been published in the Lancet (1998). The other, published in Human Reproduction (1993), involved 880 women. Other supporting data not in the public domain are confidential to the application.Evidence of safety was also taken into account when the CSM considered the proposal for levonorgestrel 0.75 mg to be available without a prescription. A note of the CSM meeting of 23 March 2000 is available on their website:www.mca.gov.uk/aboutagency/regframework/csm/csmhome.htm.The Yellow Card Scheme underpins drug safety monitoring in the UK. Under the scheme, doctors, pharmacists, dentists and coroners are encouraged to report any suspected adverse drug reactions to the CSM and the MCA, jointly responsible for running the scheme.

Many factors affect teenage pregnancy. It is not possible easily to isolate any effect the availability of emergency contraception may have had.

The retail price levied for Levonelle when purchased privately from a community pharmacy is a commercial decision, determined by the manufacturer and is not a matter for the Scottish Executive.

No evaluation has been undertaken by the Scottish Executive on the availability of emergency hormonal contraception.

All published health statistics, including those for teenage pregnancies broken down by health board, are available on the SHOW website at:http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/publications/publications.htm. The Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency, which gathers and publishes annual teenage pregnancy statistics, must rely on returns from hospitals. Because of delays in returns from some hospitals, the last year for which full figures are available is 1999.

None.

It would be for the courts to determine in the circumstances of any particular case, legal liability in relation to any medical damage caused by fluoridation.

Information about deaths resulting from healthcare associated infection (HAI) is not available. HAI is not a notifiable cause of death.There are considerable clinical uncertainties about the degree to which a HAI may contribute to death. In addition, there can be uncertainties about the source of infections which cause or contribute to death. The Scottish Executive and NHSScotland are committed to reducing the incidence of HAI. Preventing and controlling HAI is an important part of the responsibilities of every NHS trust.