The Scottish Parliament has been given a categorical assurance that drug treatment on the National Health Service in Scotland is not rationed on cost grounds.
Asked by Mr David Davidson, MRPharmS (Conservative MSP for North East Scotland) whether there was any rationing of medicines because of their cost, the Scottish Minister for Health (Ms Susan Deacon) said in a written reply on January 24: "No. Clinicians are expected to base their prescribing decisions on the clinical needs of patients taking into account available evidence of clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of drugs."