§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on his policy towards the prescribing of medicines by nurses.
§ Mr. NewtonAs we made clear in "Promoting Better Health" (Cm. 249), we see merit in giving nurses more freedom to prescribe some items and use their professional judgment in other related matters. A joint working group (mainly members of the Standing Medical, Nursing and Midwifery and Pharmaceutical Advisory Committees) has recently been appointed to help us take this forward.