Large Rise In UK Code Of Practice Complaints

The number of complaints received by the UK Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority rose from 92 in 1993 to 145 in 1994, the first time that the annual total has gone over 100, says the Authority's annual report.

This is the most striking feature of the Authority's work in 1994, and the reasons for it are a matter of speculation, it says. The increase in the number of inter-company complaints received from 15 to 41 undoubtedly resulted from the number of new product launches in highly competitive areas, but there was also a sharp rise in the number of complaints from health professionals, from 59 to 86.

284 individual matters were considered by the Authority in 1994, compared to 154 in 1993, and 128 breaches were found, compared with 79 in 1993. The number of complaints received in the early part of 1995 seems to indicate that the level of complaints in 1995 will revert to that seen in 1993 and before, says the report, adding: "it may be that 1994 will turn out to be a deviation from the norm."