Extended prescribing power in diabetes: A landmark for nurses

Recommendations were first made in 1986 for nurses to take on the role of prescribing (Department of Health [DoH], 1986). Eight years later (although limited to district nurses and health visitors), nurses in eight demonstration sites throughout England began to independently prescribe (Morris, 1994). There are now approximately 29000 district nurses and health visitors (DoH, 2005a) qualified to prescribe from the list of appliances, dressings, Pharmacy, General Sales List items, and 13 Prescription Only Medicines included in the Nurse Prescribers' Formulary for Community Practitioners (British Medical Association and Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, 2006). This article explores recent advances that have further increased the prescribing power of nurses, namely nurse independent prescribing and nurse supplementary prescribing.