Advanced paramedics to prescribe medicines

NHS England has announced new laws that will allow hundreds of advanced paramedics to prescribe drugs, which will speed up access to treatment and prevent unnecessary visits to hospitals.

As of 1 April, the new laws will allow the most qualified and experienced paramedics to prescribe medication for patients who do not need hospital treatment. It is believed that up to seven out of 10 patients seen by urgent care advanced paramedics may need help but do not necessarily need to go to hospital. This can be elderly patients, those with back pain or sufferers of asthma.

Approximately 700 advanced paramedics will be put through rigorous training programmes to qualify them to write prescriptions.

Nine out of 10 responses to a recent consultation came out in favour of the change, with leading health bodies, such as the Patients Association and the Sepsis trust, also supporting the changes.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said: “Increasing the range of treatments offered by paramedics closer to people’s homes is another significant step in transforming emergency care as ambulance clinicians increasingly become part of community urgent treatment services. In the NHS’s 70th year, home visits by advanced paramedics and increasing use of clinical pharmacists and mental health therapists are among the practical ways the health service continues to innovate and adapt to the changing needs of patients and the population.”

Gerry Egan, chief executive of the College of Paramedics, said: “Independent prescribing legislation is a huge endorsement of the paramedic profession and the role it plays in providing safe, high quality care for patients in urgent and emergency care. This is great news for patients and the profession and is the culmination of many years of preparatory work. This important development demonstrates the level of confidence policy makers and other professions have in paramedics in the UK.”