Subject: DOH:NURSES' PRESCRIBING POWERS TO BE EXPANDED EVEN FURTHER DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 2004/0141 14 April 2004 NURSES' PRESCRIBING POWERS TO BE EXPANDED EVEN FURTHER 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 Editors: 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 www.mhra.gov.uk. 5. Media enquiries only to Vicky Wyatt on 020 7210 5656. -------------------------------------------------------------------- GNNREF: 93165 Issued by : DOH Press Office Contact : If you have any queries relating to this press release, please forward this e-mail to the Press Office e-mail address provided above, or alternatively contact the originating Press Office by telephone. (Media queries only) Please DO NOT attempt to reply to the sender of this e-mail. The sender is involved solely as a broadcasting agent and cannot process e-mailed queries. Any attached files with a .DOC extension should be read using a word processor capable of reading Word 97 files. If you believe that the originating body is sending you Word 2000 files that you are not yet capable of reading, ask them to save future files in an earlier version.