Lord Morris of Manchester has pursued the subject of pharmacist prescribing in the House of Lords without eliciting any new information from the Government.
In a Parliamentary written reply on June 7, Lord Hunt (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health) said: "In a press statement issued on March 13, we announced our decision to implement the main recommendations of the Review of Prescribing, Supply and Administration of Medicines. We will put forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows to permit supplementary prescribing by other health professionals (for example, pharmacists) and, subject to the successful development of supplementary prescribing, subsequently to step this up to full independent prescribing. We believe that this can help to improve services for patients and make better use of the skills of a range of professions.
Lord Morris had asked what plans there were to enable pharmacists to prescribe medicines, thus giving patients a greater incentive to consult them, and whether the expertise of community pharmacists would be of local benefit in these circumstances.