Non-Medical Prescribing

Non-medical prescribing gives patients quicker access to medicines, improves access to services and makes better use of nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals’ skills.

There are two types of non-medical prescribing.

On 28th August 2007 The Department of Health issued a press release announcing that optometrists will be able to train to prescribe medicines as independent precsribers.  The proposed changes would apply throughout the United Kingdom in both the NHS and the independent and voluntary sectors and Optometrists' prescribing practice will be informed by guidelines from the College of Optometrists.

The following documents provide information and guidance relating to non-medical prescribing in Northern Ireland.  

Useful reference links for prescribers.

The Nurse Prescribing Newsletter is issued by HSS Boards quarterly.

Regional guidance for non-medical prescribing within GP practices has been devleoped which sets out a framework for the development and implementation of non-medical prescribing within GP Practice, and thus establishes a consistent approach for non-medical prescribing.  This policy applies to all registered nurses, pharmacists and other allied health care professionals employed or engaged by a GP practice in accordance with their job descriptions, to undertake prescribing as part of their role.

Legislation exists that allows suitably qualified pharmacists to prescribe and currently there are approximately 100 qualified pharmacist prescribers in Northern Ireland.  While, most work in secondary care there are some good examples of well developed practice in primary care carried out by pharmacists in conjunction with GP practices.

In seeking to give further opportunity to prescribers to develop these practice models a regional pilot is planned, led by DHSSPS, which will enable qualified pharmacist prescribers to apply for funding to establish pharmacist prescribing clinics within GP practices.

All suitably qualified pharmacists were contacted in November 2008 and invited to submit applications for funding for this initiative.  Completed applications will be evaluated by a regional panel and successful pharmacists will be funded for a one year period commencing in April 2009.

Further information about the pilot and guidance for pharmacists and GP practices is available at: www.nicpld.org

The attached letter provides details of changes to legislation which came into force on 21 December 2009 which allow:

Note that these amendments do not extend to controlled drugs.

The outcome of the consultation (MLX 356) on the mixing of medicines in palliative care, together with the Commission on Human Medicines’ recommendations for changes to medicines legislation, have now been published by the MHRA and the recommendations accepted by Ministers.

They intend to change the law to allow non-medical prescribers to mix medicines themselves and direct others to mix, and to allow Nurse and Pharmacist Independent Prescribers to prescribe unlicensed medicines.