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Nurses' prescribing powers to be expanded even further

  • Published date:
    14 April 2004

Patients needing medicines in an emergency will be treated more quickly under plans to expand nurse prescribing announced Health Minister, John Hutton, today.

Under the new proposals, nurses could prescribe medicines used to treat life threatening conditions such as blood clots, DVT and meningitis and help to relieve the burden on accident and emergency staff.

The consultation is part of a drive to make better use of nurses' skills and to make it easier for patients to get access to the medicines that they need. Nurses can already prescribe over 180 prescription only medicines, and the consultation today proposes to add over sixty medicines to treat thirty new medical conditions. Nurse prescribing is an important part of developing the role of nurses in delivering frontline care and a patient-centred service.

Health Minister, John Hutton said:

"Extending nurse prescribing is an important part of our commitment to modernise the NHS. By breaking down traditional prescribing roles, patients can more easily access the treatment they need and are able to more fully benefit from the NHS' highly skilled workforce.

Today's proposals will particularly improve emergency care for patients and help to relieve the burden on staff working in A&E".

Notes to editor

1. The proposed additions to the conditions currently treatable under the Nurse Prescribers' Extended Formulary are listed below:

Central Nervous System

  • emergency treatment of meningitis
  • nausea and vomiting
  • prophylaxis and treatment of nausea and vomiting in the postoperative period
  • status epilepticus

Circulatory

  • acute pulmonary oedema associated with cardiac failure
  • angina pectoris
  • fluid replacement and potassium replacement (hypovolaemia and dehydration)
  • plasma substitutes for patients with a low blood volume
  • 'Thromboprophylaxis' - defined as deep vein thrombosis, acute coronary syndrome, congestive heart  failure in bed-bound patients, and perioperatively
  • ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia

Eye

  • Ophthalmic conditions - diagnostic use in ophthalmology, tear deficiency,  inflammation following  ophthalmic surgery, corneal trauma

Gastrointestinal conditions

  • prophylaxis of acid aspiration during surgery

 Infections

  • cellulitis (as defined as treatment for ascending cellulitis of the leg, to be  distinguished from   inflammation associated with varicose ulcers)

Musculoskeletal

  • acute dystonias
  • acute severe pain after trauma
  • changing painful dressings
  •  pain and inflammation/soft tissue injury

Oral conditions

  • dental infections

Poisoning

  •  poisoning
  • tetanus treatment

Respiratory

  • acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis
  •  acute reversible airways obstruction (acute severe asthma or acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive  pulmonary disease)  anaphylaxis
  •  conditions requiring oxygen supplementation (e.g. hypoxaemia)

Skin

  •  psoriasis
  •  molluscum contagiosum

Substance Dependence

  •  acute alcohol withdrawal

2. Over 2000 nurses are qualified to prescribe from the Nurse Prescribers' Extended Formulary for around 80 medical conditions and 180 prescription only medicines, together with all Pharmacy and General Sales list medicines for these conditions. The extended formulary was introduced in April 2002.

3. Over 25,000 district nurses and health visitors can already prescribe from a more limited formulary of products for patients in community nursing - the Nurse Prescribers' Formulary for District Nurses and Health Visitors.

4. The consultation document can be found at the link above:

  • Contact:
    Press Officer
  • Phone:
    Vicky Wyatt
    020 7210 5656

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