# The Medicines for Human Use (Prescribing) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2006, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order makes further amendments to certain Orders relating to the prescribing, sale and supply of medicines.
Articles 2 to 14 amend the Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997 (“the POM Order”) which specifies the description and classes of medicines (“prescription only medicines”) which may be sold or supplied only in accordance with the prescription of an “appropriate practitioner” and may be administered only by or in accordance with the directions of such a practitioner.
Articles 2 to 6 and 14 amend articles 1, 2 and 3A to 3C of, and Schedule 3A to, the POM Order, so as to make provision for nurses and pharmacists who meet certain conditions, (“nurse independent prescribers” and “pharmacist independent prescribers”) to prescribe and administer prescription only medicines, and remove provisions which applied to “extended formulary nurse prescribers”. In particular, article 3 amends article 2 of the POM Order so that nurse independent prescribers and pharmacist independent prescribers are “appropriate practitioners” able to prescribe prescription only medicines. Article 4 amends Article 3A to define the classes of prescription only medicines which may be prescribed by nurse independent prescribers and specify the conditions as to cases and circumstances in which nurse independent prescribers can prescribe, administer or give directions for administration for certain prescription only medicines containing controlled drugs. Article 14 substitutes a new Schedule 3A which specifies controlled drugs which may be prescribed, administered or directed for administration by nurse independent prescribers and specifies conditions for such use.
Article 2 also makes consequential amendments to article 1 of the POM Order to reflect changes which have been made to the nurses' professional register and to the entries in that register indicating who is qualified to act as a prescriber.
Articles 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11 also amend the POM Order so as to change the title of certain nurses able to prescribe prescription only medicines specified in Schedule 3 of the POM Order from “district nurse/health visitor prescribers” to “community practitioner nurse prescribers”.
Articles 7, 9 to 11 and 13 of this Order make consequential amendments to the POM Order.
Articles 8 and 12 make amendments consequential on the revocation of article 6 of the POM Order by a previous amending order.
Article 15 amends the Medicines (Pharmacy and General Sale—Exemption) Order 1980 (“the Pharmacy and General Sale Order”) which provides for exemptions from sections 52 and 53 of the Medicines Act 1968 (restrictions on the sale or supply of medicinal products). Article 15 amends articles 1 and 4AA of the Pharmacy and General Sale Order so as to provide an exemption from the restrictions on sale and supply in hospitals and health centres where such sale or supply is in accordance with the written directions of a pharmacist independent prescriber, a community practitioner nurse prescriber, a nurse independent prescriber or a nurse independent/supplementary prescriber. Article 15 also makes consequential amendments to article 1 of, and Schedule 3 to, the Pharmacy and General Sale Order to reflect changes which have been made to the nurses' professional register and to the entries in that register indicating who is qualified to act as a prescriber.
A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business is available from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Market Towers, 1 Nine Elms Lane, London SW8 5NQ. Copies of the assessment have been placed in the libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/915/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/medicines-for-human-use-prescribing-miscellaneous-amendments-order-2006/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.