SEX DRUG BAN DEFIED

FAMILY doctors in Lothian are leading a rebellion against a ban on
prescribing the anti-impotence drug Viagra.

It emerged today that Lothian GPs have signed 89 prescriptions for the drug
in the past three months - more than any other health board area in Scotland
and considerably higher than the 58 prescriptions in Greater Glasgow.

Viagra's manufacturers Pfizer revealed demand for the controversial drug has
doubled since the Government issued guidelines restricting its use.

Health Secretary Frank Dobson announced in January that the Government
intends to make the drug available on the NHS - but only to certain
patients.

Mr Dobson proposed that only men suffering from multiple sclerosis,
diabetes, or those who have had their prostate gland removed or suffered
spinal injuries would be eligible.

And he urged doctors not to prescribe it until a consultation period on
guidelines had ended.

His plea came after experts fear it could cost over GBP 1 billion if Viagra
were prescribed to Britain's estimated two million impotence sufferers.

But Mr Dobson's decision sparked a rebellion from doctors as it was the
first time a health minister had stepped in to ration treatment for
patients.

The British Medical Association argued that doctors were best placed to
decide on treatment for patients, not politicians, and urged their members
to defy the ban. Dr Kenneth Harden, chairman of the BMA's Scottish GPs
committee, said that doctors had a legal duty to offer patients the best
treatment.

Health boards cannot stop doctors from prescribing the drug, which was
licensed for use in the UK last September.

But last month Lothian Health Board asked doctors not to prescribe Viagra
until national guidelines were available to avoid differences between health
boards.

Yet the ban was imposed despite advice from the board's own experts that the
drug was "effective for the treatment of impotence whatever the cause".

Lothian Health general manager Trevor Jones said: "We told GPs we didn't
think they should be prescribing at this stage and should await the result
of Frank Dobson's nationwide review." Health service bosses have urged the
Government to stand firm on their decision to restrict its use because of
the cost implications for the NHS.

Stephen Thornton, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

"Setting limits to health care is never easy but we believe these proposals
are fair."

The Government's consultation period on Viagra ended last Thursday, but a
decision will not be made until the Department of Health has looked at 800
submissions from doctors and patients groups.

A Pfizer spokesman said the company wants doctors "to be able to prescribe
what they think best."

Edinburgh GP John Garner, vice chairman of the Scottish BMA, said today he
has defied the ban to prescribe the drug to two of his patients, neither of
whom fit the guidelines.