Legal issues arising in community nursing 5: nurse prescribing

Major changes are recommended in prescribing which will extend prescribing powers to many other professional groups on a restricted basis. Nurse prescribing in the community was made possible following the recommendations of the first Crown report (Department of Health (DoH), 1989) by the Medicinal Products (Prescription by Nurses etc) Act 1992 and by changes to Section 41 of the National Health Service Act 1977. However, prescribing by nurses on the basis of group protocols has taken place in hospitals and in primary care with no clear basis in law. A further inquiry to review prescribing, supply and administration of medicines reported in March 1998 on group protocols and published its final report in March 1999 (DoH, 1999). A recent press release announced that the Government will implement the Crown proposals by July 2000 (DoH, 2000). This article examines these proposals and their potential impact on community nursing.