§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will undertake a consultation exercise on extending the categories of health professionals qualified to administer the drug Naloxone/Nacran, to include ambulance technicians. [111166]
§ Ms StuartAny extension to the groups of professionals who may administer injectable medicines such as Naloxone without a doctor's directions and on their own initiative, would require an amendment to the Prescription Only Medicine (Human Use) Order 1997.914W There is an established process whereby advice is sought from the Committee on Safety of Medicines on an application prior to public consultation. Currently there is no application under consideration and I have no plans to undertake a consultation exercise. Naloxone may be administered by ambulance paramedics as they are one of the groups mentioned above.