The professions that can sell, supply, administer or prescribe medicines is set out in law. This means the law needs to change for professions to gain new rights. This happens over time as our professions develop
Prescribing and working with medicines present higher levels of risk than other areas of practice. If the wrong medicine, or the wrong dose, is prescribed or administered, it can have significant consequences for service users and their families.
It is for this reason that the sale, supply and administration of certain medicines, and which professionals can prescribe these, is tightly controlled by legislation. The key pieces of legislation are:
- The Medicines Act 1968
- Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001
- The Human Medicines Regulations 2012
Professions' current rights
The easiest way to check which medicines and prescribing rights your profession currently has is to review our table of medicines and prescribing rights for our registered professions.
Medicine and prescribing rights of our registered professions
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Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
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Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
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Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
- Exemptions
Prescribing
- SP = Supplementary prescribing
- IP = Independent prescribing
- IP - CDs = IP of controlled drugs*
*Controlled drugs (CDs) and our professions
Supplementary prescribers can prescribe CDs within the limits of a clinical management plan.
Independent prescribers may prescribe from a limited list of CDs, only if extra laws allow their profession to do so
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Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
-
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
Prescribing
- SP = Supplementary prescribing
-
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
-
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
-
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
- Exemptions
-
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
-
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
- Exemptions
Prescribing
- SP = Supplementary prescribing
- IP = Independent prescribing
-
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
Prescribing
- SP = Supplementary prescribing
- IP = Independent prescribing
- IP - CDs = IP of controlled drugs*
*Controlled drugs (CDs) and our professions
Supplementary prescribers can prescribe CDs within the limits of a clinical management plan.
Independent prescribers may prescribe from a limited list of CDs, only if extra laws allow their profession to do so.
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Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
-
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
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Radiographer - Diagnostic
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
Prescribing
- SP = Supplementary prescribing
Radiographer - Therapeutic
Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
Prescribing
- SP = Supplementary prescribing
- IP = Independent prescribing
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Supply and administration
- PSD = Patient-specific direction
- PGD = Patient group direction
Changing our profession’s medicines and prescribing rights
When registrants progress through to more senior or specialist roles within their profession, there is often a greater need for access to medicine and prescribing rights. We understand that this causes frustration when the cognate profession does have access to those rights and we appreciate this presents limitations to the development of those professions, and the care they are able to provide to their service users.
Changes to our profession’s medicines and prescribing rights are not led by HCPC. This is because a change in law is required. Instead this work is initially led by NHS England. They work with professional bodies on behalf of the four countries of the UK to consider the supply, administration and prescribing of medicines by new professions. We support and assist NHS England in this process, to ensure our professions have access to the medicine entitlements they need to provide safe and effective care to their service users in a holistic, efficient manner.
- A public consultation must be held by NHS England;
- The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) must recommend the change to Ministers;
- Ministers must decide to change the law;
- Changes to the law must be passed in Parliament; and
- Changes must be made to NHS regulations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to give effect to the change in the law
- The Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) must recommend the change to the Home Office Ministers;
- Ministers must decide to change the law relating to controlled drugs in England, Scotland and Wales; and
- Northern Irish legislation needs to be amended separately by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland.
If you would like to lobby for changes to medicines and prescribing law, contact your professional body to support and develop the case of need for your profession.
Find out more about NHS England's work on their website.
Current proposed changes
Below is a list of proposed changes to our profession’s medicines and prescribing rights which have not yet become law.
When we receive further updates, we will update these pages.
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In 2018, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommended to the Home Office that therapeutic radiographers be allowed to prescribe a list of controlled drugs. However, the Misuse of Drugs Regulations have not been changed to allow therapeutic radiographers to independently prescribe controlled drugs at this time.
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At present, paramedics are able to supply and administer some controlled drugs under exemptions from the Human Medicines Regulations (2012) or through the use of PGDs and PSDs. However, they are unable to independently prescribe controlled drugs, which is subject to changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Supplementary paramedic prescribers can prescribe controlled drugs, but only in accordance with a service user’s clinical management plan.
In October 2019, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommended the Home Office amend the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. However, the Misuse of Drugs Regulations have not been changed to allow paramedics to independently prescribe controlled drugs at this time.
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The NHS has recently consulted on making the following changes to our profession’s medicines and prescribing rights:
- Amendments to the list of controlled drugs that physiotherapists can independently prescribe
- Amendments to the list of controlled drugs that podiatrists can independently prescribe
- Supply and administration of medicines using patient group directions by clinical scientists
- Amendments to the list of medicines that paramedics are able to administer under exemptions
- Supply and administration of medicines using patient group directions by operating department practitioners
- Supply and administration of medicines using patient group directions by biomedical scientists