- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive in what year the prescription drug Ritalin (methylphenidate hydrochloride) was introduced in the United Kingdom.
Answer
Methylphenidate hydrochloridehas been licensed in the UK as part of a comprehensive treatment programmefor attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) in children aged six yearsand older since 1988. Ritalin, a brand nameof the drug substance methylphenidate hydrochloride, was first authorised in the UK on 31 October 1997.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the prescription drug Ritalin (methylphenidate hydrochloride) is licensed for use on children.
Answer
Ritalin(methylphenidate hydrochloride) is licensed for use in children aged six yearsand over as part of acomprehensive treatment programme for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD). Treatment should be under the supervision of a specialist in childhoodbehavioural disorders.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive in what year the prescription drug Risperdal (risperidone) was introduced in the United Kingdom.
Answer
The firstRisperdal preparations (Risperdal 1, 2, 3 and 4mg tablets) were authorised in the UK on 8 December 1992.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive in what year the prescription drug Efexor XL (venlafaxine hydrochloride) was introduced in the United Kingdom.
Answer
Efexor and Efexor XL are brand names of the drug substance venlafaxine hydrochloride.Venlafaxine has been licensedin the UK since November 1994 and Efexor XL, the modified release form of the drug,was first authorised in August 1997.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the prescription drug Risperdal (risperidone) is licensed for use on children.
Answer
Risperdal is not licensedfor use in children. However, clinicians can use drugs off-license i.e. outsidetheir licensed indications, if they consider that treatment to be the most appropriatefor an individual patient. In these circumstances the clinician takes personal responsibilityfor the use of the drug.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many doses of Risperdal (risperidone) have been prescribed to children since its introduction.
Answer
It is not possibleto extract from prescription data collated centrally by NHS National Services Scotlandthe number of doses of Risperdal (risperidone) prescribed exclusively for children.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many doses of Ritalin (methylphenidate hydrochloride) have been prescribed to children since its introduction.
Answer
Information collatedcentrally by NHS National Services Scotland on prescribed doses of drugs is measuredusing the average maintenance dose of a drug as used in adults. This unit of measurementis based on advice from the World Health Organization. It is not possible to extractfrom that data the number of doses of Ritalin (methylphenidate hydrochloride) prescribedexclusively for children.NHS National Services Scotland website carries generalinformation about drugs used in the treatment of Attention Deficit HyperactivityDisorder (ADHD). This information can be found at
www.isdscotland.org.More generally, inrelation to the management of ADHD, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is currentlyundertaking a national audit of the care and treatment provided throughout Scotland for children with ADHD, including the use of drug therapy.The report of this exercise is due to be published in March 2008.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any cases of children suffering adverse or severe adverse effects from the use of the prescription drug Efexor XL (venlafaxine hydrochloride) since its introduction and, if so, how many such cases have been reported.
Answer
The safety of medicinesis reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products RegulatoryAgency (MHRA). Reports of suspectedadverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the MHRA and Commission for HumanMedicines (CHM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme.The safety of all marketed drugs is continually monitored by the MHRA and CHM. TheMHRA has provided the following information:
The number of suspectedADR reports received by the MHRA for children aged 0-17 years from 1 July 1963 (when the Yellow Card Scheme was introduced) to 15 June 2007 inclusive for venlafaxine which includes Efexor XL is92. This figure includes reports received from the whole of the UK.
It is important tonote that the submission of a suspected ADR report does not necessarily mean thatit was caused by the drug. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessingcausal relationships including temporal association, the possible contribution ofconcomitant medication and the underlying disease. Additionally, the use of medicinesmay vary between different age groups.
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 27 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any child deaths have been reported as a result of the administration of the prescription drug Efexor XL (venlafaxine hydrochloride).
Answer
The safety of medicinesis reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products RegulatoryAgency (MHRA). Reports of suspectedadverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the MHRA and Commission for HumanMedicines (CHM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme.The safety of all marketed drugs is continually monitored by the MHRA and CHM. TheMHRA has provided the following information:
The number of suspectedfatal ADR reports received by the MHRA for children aged 0-17 years from 1 July 1963 (when the Yellow Card Scheme was introduced) to 15 June 2007 inclusive for venlafaxine which includes Efexor XL istwo. This figure includes reports received from the whole of the UK.
It is important tonote that the submission of a suspected ADR report does not necessarily mean thatit was caused by the drug. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessingcausal relationships including temporal association, the possible contribution ofconcomitant medication and the underlying disease. Additionally, the use of medicinesmay vary between different age groups
- Asked by: Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 June 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 21 June 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects the Student Awards Agency for Scotland to pursue the 1,400 graduates who were liable to pay the graduate endowment this year but have not responded to their payment letters.
Answer
There is a legal obligationfor students who became liable for the Graduate Endowment on or before 1 April 2007 to pay it and the Student Awards Agency for Scotland will continue to pursue those who have not paid.
