This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Deacon - Nurses to be given wider prescribing powers - More nurses prescribing, a greater range of drugs -
04/05/2001
More Scots nurses will be able to prescribe medicines to their patients -and will also be able to prescribe a wider range of medicines, under new proposals announced today by Health Minister, Susan Deacon.
Outlining the proposals, Ms Deacon said:
"This move follows a wide-ranging consultation on extending prescribing to new groups of nurses and marks a major step forward in our efforts to give patients faster, more convenient access to healthcare. It also forms a crucial part of our Health Plan commitment to make better use of the skills and expertise of all healthcare professions, including nurses.
"Why should patients have to visit their GP to obtain a prescription - when a district nurse could write the prescription in the patient's front room. Or why should someone wait in A&E for a doctor's prescription when an A&E nurse could write one within minutes.
"After a period of training - carefully designed to ensure patient safety - independent nurse prescribers will be able to prescribe all General Sales List and Pharmacy medicines, together with a list of Prescription-Only Medicines (POMs), linked to specified medical conditions.
"This will extend independent nurse prescribing to a broad range of medical conditions including, minor injuries and ailments, and will also cover health promotion - including smoking cessation, and palliative care treatments - excluding Controlled Drugs. As a first step, from this week nurse prescribers are able to prescribe nicotine replacement therapies.
"It is also now proposed to take steps to allow supplementary prescribing by nurses as soon as the UK Government enacts the Health and Social Care Bill. Clauses in the Bill, which also extend to Scotland, will enable us to create new types of prescribers, responsible for the continuing care of patients who have already been clinically assessed by a doctor.
"Effectively this will enable nurses to become supplementary prescribers for other more complex, medical conditions and chronic diseases including asthma, diabetes and coronary heart disease, as well as mental health.
"Taken together these changes will help to deliver a faster, more patient-centred service, where the skills and expertise of our highly trained nurses are recognised and maximised. These changes will also help break down the artificial barriers between various healthcare professionals and encourage greater team working in our hospitals, GP practices and communities."
BACKGROUND
1. Nurse prescribing was first introduced in Scotland in 1996, with two small pilot sites in general practice. There are now around 3000 nurse prescribers in Scotland.
2. The current Nurse Prescribing Scheme allows district nurses and health visitors (and practice nurses with a district nurse or health visitor qualification) to prescribe from a limited list of products set out in the Nurse Prescribers' Formulary. Current nurse prescribers will continue to be able to prescribe from the existing Formulary and many will be eligible for further training.
3. An extension to the current Nurse Prescribers' Scheme is in line with the main recommendations of the UK Review of Prescribing, Supply and Administration of Medicines. The Review was set up in 1997 to look at ways of making greater use of the skills and experience of the various professionals working in both primary and secondary care.
4. The consultation on extending nurse prescribing began in Scotland on 30 October 2000 and ended on 15 January 2001. Around 200 responses were received, with the majority supporting the proposed changes.
5. Today's announcement will allow other groups of nurses to train to prescribe from a wider range of medicines. After a period of training, independent nurse prescribers will be able to prescribe all General Sales List medicines i.e. medicines which are available from retail outlets such as supermarkets, Pharmacy medicines, and from a list of Prescription-Only Medicines (POMs) linked to specified medical conditions as outlined above. The Medicines Control Agency, the UK-wide medicines regulatory authority, needs to consult before the POMs can be added to the Nurse Prescribers' Formulary. The MCA intends to carry out this consultation later this year.
6. The Health and Social Care Bill, which introduces supplementary prescribing, passed its 3 rd Reading in the House of Lords on 3 May. Steps will be taken to allow supplementary prescribing by nurses and prescribing by other professions such as pharmacists after the Bill is enacted. Clauses in the Bill will enable Ministers to introduce new types of prescriber, who will be responsible for the continuing care of patients who have been clinically assessed by a doctor.
7. The Scottish Executive is also proposing to allow current nurse prescribers working in the community to be able to prescribe the same range of appliances and dressings as doctors.
News Release: SE1201/2001
4 May 2001