Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending prescribing rights to (a) dieticians, (b) occupational therapists, (c) prosthetists and orthotists, (d) diagnostic radiographers, (e) speech and language therapists and (f) other healthcare professionals.

The Department works with NHS England to ensure that the prescribing responsibilities for all Allied Health Professionals are regularly reviewed and updated. Where it is deemed clinically appropriate and necessary to extend prescribing responsibilities to Allied Health Professionals, the Department follows an established process for making changes that ensures proposals are safe and beneficial for patients.

Regarding wider work related to non-medical prescribing, in late 2020 NHS England launched a series of public consultations seeking views on proposals to amend responsibilities for the prescribing, supply, and administration of medicines for the following professionals:

• dental hygienists and dental therapists;
• biomedical scientists, clinical scientists, and operating department practitioners;
• podiatrists and physiotherapists; and
• paramedics.

This work was undertaken as part of the Chief Professions Officers’ medicines mechanisms (CPOMM) programme. The Department is working with NHS England to consider the CPOMM consultations and progress the extension of responsibilities to supply, administer, or prescribe medicines under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (HMRs 2012) to regulated healthcare professionals, where a clear need and benefits have been identified.

For example, in June 2024 the Department completed work to amend the HMRs 2012 to allow dental hygienists and dental therapists to supply and administer specified medicines via exemptions, and pharmacy technicians to use Patient Group Directions. This legislation came into force in late June 2024. At present, the Department is reviewing priorities for progressing work in the CPOMM programme.