GPs prescribe £10,200 of sun cream

DOCTORS in Oldham handed out more than 300 prescriptions for suncream and more than 2,500 items of shampoo and scalp treatments during three winter months, new figures have revealed.

GPs working as part of Oldham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) prescribed 364 sunscreens and camouflages at a cost of £10,244 between October and December 2014.

The figures, revealed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, also show local GPs prescribed 2,540 items of shampoo and other hair and scalp preparations costing £12,904.

But local GP Dr Anita Sharma argued prescriptions are only given when there is a “clinical indication” the patient requires it.

Across the three months, Oldham CCG - which represents all 45 GP practices in Oldham - prescribed 1.3 million items costing just over £11 million.

Dr Sharma, the clinical director for vascular care and prescribing at the CCG and a senior partner at the South Chadderton Health Centre, said: “There is clear national guidance and specific criteria for GPs around the prescribing of shampoos and suncreams. I will not prescribe unless there is a clinical indication that the patient requires it. It’s important to remember that more serious skin conditions such as psoriasis require medical treatment. Suncreams can be prescribed to people with sensitivity to UV radiation, including some cancer patients who have undergone radiotherapy.”