Nurse prescribers urged to sign controlled drugs e-petition
March 2, 2012 by admin
Nurse and pharmacist prescribers are being urged by ANP Chair Barbara Stuttle to sign an e-petition started by Professor Matt Griffiths, visiting professor of prescribing and medicines management at the University of the West of England. Professor Griffiths last month called on Andrew Lansley or David Cameron to intervene on this issue (see here), after it emerged that there is now no date set for the necessary amendments to be made to the Misuse of Drugs Act. Barbara Stuttle points out that these changes would lead to efficiency savings, so topical at the moment, as well as allowing qualified professionals to do their jobs properly.
New publication
May 16, 2010 by admin
A second edition of “Independent and Supplementary Prescribing: An essential guide” edited by Molly Courtenay and Matt Griffiths has been published by Cambridge University Press, and includes a new chapter on minimising the risk of prescribing error.
Controlled drugs: keeping up the pressure
March 31, 2010 by admin
Another parliamentary question has been asked about Home Office plans to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to provide for the prescribing of more controlled drugs by nurse and pharmacist independent prescribers, and whether there will be a statement from the Secretary of State.
Late last year, ANP patron Baroness Cumberlege asked a parliamentary question about the changes needed to amend the Act to allow nurse and pharmacist independent prescribers to prescribe from the whole formulary, including controlled drugs (see here) and it looked as though legislation was imminent (see here).
Since then, however, despite the encouraging signs, there has been no change. On 11 March, Anne Milton, who is Shadow Minister for Health, asked the latest question. Matt Griffiths, ANP committee member and visiting professor of prescribing and medicines management at the University of Northampton and the University of the West of England, says, “If the legislation is not passed before the election is called, this will result in a poorer service for patients for a longer period of time. If only the politicians responsible were able to see the effect of these delays on patients, I am sure that they would see this issue as being of higher priority”.
Administration of medicines in emergencies: MHRA consults
February 25, 2010 by admin
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has launched a consultation about exemptions to the POM Order, which will extend the range of medicines that can be administered by non-prescribers, in emergency situations. This could be good news, says ANP Committee member Matt Griffiths, who points out that Patient Group Directions (PGD) legislation does not allow authorised practitioners to delegate this responsibility.
Legislation specifies that prescription-only medicines (POMs) can only be supplied through registered pharmacy premises against prescriptions written by appropriate practitioners (including non-medical prescribers). There are two separate sets of exemptions to this: the Article 7 (of the POM Order) list and the paramedic list.
The Article 7 list allows some parenteral medicines (all parenteral medicines are POMs) to be administered by anyone to save a life - given people doing this have to have access to the medicine at the time, this usually takes place in hospitals or ambulances. The proposed change here is that glucose, used to treat hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes, should be allowed to be administered at strengths other than 50%. At present, only glucose 50% is included in the list but modern practice is to use 10% (particularly for children) or 20%, as 50% can be both difficult to administer and an irritant.
The other set of exemptions allows registered paramedics to administer some parenteral medicines on their own initiative to meet immediate needs. The specific change proposed here is that adrenaline hydrochloride be added to the list as an alternative to adrenaline acid tartrate, for paramedics to use in anaphylaxis and cardiac arrest.
Professor Griffiths is concerned that certain medicines, such as adrenaline 1:10,000, used in cardiac arrests by advanced life support providers (some of whom are not prescribers) are not included in the current legislation. He urges organisations to respond to this consultation, and to consider including any other life-saving medicines, as the list of exemptions has become out of date and doesn’t support current clinical guidelines. The closing date is 7 May 2010.
New post for ANP committee member
December 13, 2009 by admin
Matt Griffiths has just been appointed Visiting Professor of Prescribing and Medicines Management at the University of the West of England, a position which he says will allow him to continue the work he has been doing at the University of Northampton in bridging practice, policy and education.
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