Updated: 14/04/2005

Responses to NPEF consultation published by MHRA

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published the responses it received to its consultation on extending the Nurse Prescribers’ Extended Formulary (MLX 303). Download MHRA published responses here (accessed 8/3/05; see also: 1 , 2, and 3 for new items about the consultation and the responses to it).
 

Government publishes guide to prescribing, supply and administration of medicines

The Department of Health (DH) and the NHS Modernization Agency has published a brief guide to the mechanisms, supply and administration of medicines to help service redesign and development of new roles. It can be downloaded here (accessed 15/3).
 

Conference announcement: Nurse-led oncology care

A one-day conference on nurse-led care and clinics in oncology will be held on 10 May 2005 in Manchester. It will include a session on nurse prescribing in cancer care. See here  for further details (accessed 12/3).


Latest figures on volume of nurses’ and pharmacists’ prescriptions

The latest figures from the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA) show that the volume of items prescribed by extended formulary and supplementary nurse prescribers is a small but increasing proportion of total nurse prescribing in general practice: it was 22% in December 2004. More than 300,000 items were prescribed in each of November and December in general practice by nurse prescribers. In the three months to December 2004, the PPA received 1842 items for processing from pharmacist supplementary prescribers. The full report can be downloaded here (accessed 12/3).
 

Nurse prescribing in substance misuse: briefing published

A briefing on nurse prescribing in substance misuse has been published by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) and can be downloaded here (accessed 14/3). It examines the role of the different prescribing mechanisms for nurses in substance misuse services, stressing the importance of correct identification of the appropriate staff to undertake prescribing training and the important role of doctors in providing supervision and support.

Given the regulatory changes that will allow supplementary prescribers to prescribe controlled drugs (see here for news item), the NTA believes that there is real potential to boost prescribing capacity within substance misuse services significantly (see here; accessed 15/3).

For drug users being prescribed methadone, a specialist GP or psychiatrist could agree a CMP with the supplementary prescriber and the patient, and the supplementary prescriber would then be able to prescribe methadone. The NTA estimates that between 100 and 200 nurses in substance misuse services will train as supplementary prescribers.

The NTA will be working with the Department of Health on training and clinical support of nurse and pharmacist prescribers in substance misuse.
 

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