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Covering Letter

Primary and Community Care Directorate
Primary Care Division

T: 0131-244 2817 F: 0131-244 2621
E: karen.wastle@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

To: See attached list

9 November 2007

Dear Sir/Madam

Consultation on A Safe Prescription: Developing Nurse, Midwife and Allied Health Profession ( NMAHP) Prescribing in NHS Scotland

I am writing to invite your views on the enclosed draft strategy paper.

Whilst the non-medical prescribing scheme is bedding down well in certain parts of Scotland, research shows that NHS Boards would benefit from a high level strategic framework from which they can develop local NMAHP prescribing services.

The draft strategy paper provides such a framework and sets out the infrastructure that will be needed to drive NMAHP prescribing forward in relation to three key areas: culture; capability; and capacity. Whilst recognising that local differences in emphasis will always exist, the draft strategy also makes a set of recommendations on developing and managing an NMAHP prescribing service that will help to create consistency in quality throughout Scotland.

Responding to this consultation paper

We are inviting written responses to this consultation paper by 1 February 2008. Please send your response to Karen Wastle at:

karen.wastle@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

or

If you have any queries, or you would like to request additional copies of the paper, please contact Karen on 0131 244 2817.

We would be grateful if you could clearly indicate in your response which parts of the draft strategy paper you are commenting on as this will aid our analysis of the responses received.

This consultation, and all other Scottish Government consultation exercises, can be viewed online on the consultation web pages of the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is.

The Scottish Government now has an email alert system for consultations (SEconsult: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/seconsult.aspx). This system allows stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly email containing details of all new consultations (including web links). SEconsult complements, but in no way replaces Scottish Government distribution lists, and is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all Scottish Government consultation activity, and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most interest. We would encourage you to register.

Further information on the Scottish Government consultation process is enclosed.

Handling your response

We need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made public. Please complete and return the Respondent Information Form enclosed with this letter as this will ensure that we treat your response appropriately. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential, and we will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Government are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public (see the enclosed Respondent Information Form), these will be made available to the public in the Scottish Executive Library by 28 February 2008. We will check all responses where agreement to publish has been given for any potentially defamatory material before logging them in the library or placing them on the website. You can make arrangements to view responses by contacting the Scottish Government library on 0131 244 4552. Responses can be copied and sent to you but a charge may be made for this service.

What happens next?

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help us finalise this strategy. We aim to issue a report on this consultation process by 4 April 2008. The strategy document will be finalised as soon as practical after the closing date.

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to Karen Wastle - contact details as before.

Thank you for your assistance as we progress this work.

Yours faithfully

Jane Walker
Primary Care Nursing and Team Development

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