Scottish Government

Scottish Executive Health Department

Extending Independent Nurse Prescribing within NHSScotland

A guide for implementation

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CONTENTS

HOW TO USE THE GUIDE
Introduction
Brief history of nurse prescribing in Scotland
Extending nurse prescribing
Current nurse prescribers
Scope of this guidance and effect of devolution
Who may prescribe and what may be prescribed in extended nurse prescribing
Categories of nurses and midwives who may prescribe
Nurse Prescribers' Extended Formulary and the Scottish Drug Tariff
Implementation strategy
Selection of nurses and midwives to be trained
Central funding for extended nurse prescribing
Non-NHS staff
Funding from other sources
Education and training
The programme of preparation for extended nurse prescribing
Other training and education
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Notification of qualification to prescribe to NMC
NMC Voice Bank Enquiries
Actions for employer
Notification of qualification to prescribe by nurse's/midwife's employer
Notification of change of nurse prescriber details
The prescription form
Obtaining prescription forms for nurse prescribers
Non-NHS nurses
Prescription forms for nurses and midwives in primary care
Prescription forms for hospital-based nurses and midwives
How to complete the prescription form
Role of the pharmacist - advice on medicinesSecurity and Safe Handling of prescription forms: good practice
Loss of prescription forms
Good practice, ethics and issues common to alll nurse andmidwife prescribers
Responsibility for prescribing decisions
Stock items
Informing patients
Who to write prescriptions for
Prescribing for self, family and friends
Nursing records
Noting prescribing in the nursing record: good practice
Adverse reaction reporting
How to report a suspected adverse reaction to a medicine
prescribed by a nurse
Legal and clinical liability
Liability of employer
Professional indemnity
Dispensing of prescribed items
Dispensing doctors in primary care
Nurses required to dispense in primary care
Verification of prescribing status
The NMC Voice Bank
Role of the pharmacist on verification of prescribing status
Dispensing by appliance contractors
Urgent dispensing
Dispensing of items in Wales and Northern Ireland
Dispensing items against a nurse prescription in hospital pharmacies
Budget setting and monitoring
Nurse and midwife prescribing monitoring information - primary care
Nurse and midwife prescribing monitoring in secondary care/
other settings
Evaluation audit and clinical governance of Nurse and Midwife prescribing
ANNEX A Notification Of Newly Qualified Nurse Prescriber/Change Of Circumstances
ANNEX B Policy Statement - Record Keeping
ANNEX C NHS Education For Scotland - Outline Curriculum
ANNEX D Examples of Prescription Forms