Guernsey has opened the door to changing the medicine prescribing landscape in a move which potentially will have far-reaching consequences.
Health & Social Services currently has to take changes to the law to the States for approval, but the Assembly has now agreed it can do this through regulations instead, a much quicker and more flexible process.
That paves the way for swift decisions in the future to allow the likes of pharmacists and nurses to prescribe certain medication, as well as opening the door to letting schools stock spare asthma inhalers and adrenaline auto-injectors.
“It has not always been able to prioritise the resources needed to bring multiple but sporadic policy letters to this Assembly to direct ordinances to be made,” said HSC President Deputy Brouard.
“This has resulted in a divergence in some parts of medicine legislation between Guernsey and the UK, for which the committee has, on occasion, had to address when methods have become time critical.
“The recent pandemic is an example of a committee bringing to the States an emergency policy letter and draft legislation to amend the prescription medicine ordinance.
“There are also examples where the committee is prevented from delivering patient centered care as part of the transformation of care delivery described by Partnership of Purpose, non-medical prescribing, that is where it’s not a doctor or a dentist doing it, has been increasingly adopted internationally because it better reflects the multidisciplinary nature of care provision and improves access to care and patient safety.”
HSC will now look at allowing a wider pool of health professionals to prescribe medication, which could include nurses and midwives, pharmacists, paramedics, dietitians, diagnostic radiographers and physiotherapists.
The committee is aware that the inability to keep pace with prescription-only medicines being provided as they are in the UK has resulted in being unable to recruit to certain positions.
“The propositions before you today, if agreed, will enable the committee to more easily implement an incremental program extending the prescribing rights to various health professional groups locally, the committee will also be able to update legal provisions as and when necessary.
“For example, the UK exempts some of the restrictions on the sale and supply and administration of prescription only medicines in schools. These exemptions relate to asthma inhalers and adrenaline to respond to serious allergic reactions.”