Allied health professionals have called on the Government to enable them to prescribe medication to their patients directly, to help ensure more timely care and relieve pressure on the NHS.
In a letter to the UK Government, the group of allied health bodies highlight that being able to prescibe directly would ensure people get the medication they need without having to seek assistance from another healthcare professional.
Professionals such as speech and language therapists, dietitians, orthoptists, diagnostic radiographers, and occupational therapists could all offer such interventions – an orthoptist could prescribe medications for glaucoma, for example, while a radiographer could prescribe local anaesthetic before they perform biopsies.
With the NHS battling the pressure of ever-increasing waiting lists, the letter to Steve Barclay MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, argues that this change would reduce barriers for patients and relieve pressure on clinical staff.
It could also improve patient outcomes, they state, so that if someone undergoing swallowing therapy for tongue cancer develops oral thrush, they could be prescribed thrush medication during their regular therapy, rather than waiting days to see a GP while their condition worsens.
The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, the British Dietetic Association, the British and Irish Orthoptic Society, the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and the Society of Radiographers, alongside the British Association of Prosthetists and Orthotists, have all added their support to the letter asking for prescribing responsibilities to be extended.
“Enabling more allied health professionals to prescribe medication will mean people receive prescriptions from the healthcare professional with the most relevant expertise and the greatest understanding of their situation,” said Kamini Gadhok, chief executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
“We urge the Government to work with us and implement this necessary change to improve the efficiency of our healthcare system.”
Richard Evans, CEO of The Society and College of Radiographers, added: “Allowing allied health professionals with training to prescribe as part of their practice will make a significant difference to the efficiency and effectiveness of patient care.
“It has been known for years that regulated health professionals other than doctors and pharmacists are capable and can operate safely as qualified prescribers. It is long overdue that the hard-pressed health service is enabled to benefit through extending these rights.”
