From Mr M. W. Burnby
SIR,—As a patient, I view with concern the increasing roles proposed for nurses. Already there are nurse-led activities such as walk-in centres. There are also the current proposals for nurse prescribing and the possible use of nurses as dispensers.
There is a severe shortage of nurses, to the extent that the Government is proposing to recruit up to 5,000 Spanish nurses. Although assurances have been given regarding language abilities, I am far from convinced of the outcome of any crash courses in English. In the face of this situation I fail to understand why nurses' duties should be extended beyond the traditional roles as this would, of course, just increase the problems arising from the current nurse shortage.
Particularly ironical is the emphasis on nurse prescribing when there appears to be so little progress in pharmacist prescribing. I want to see any prescription for myself to be generated by a doctor or pharmacist, both of whom are professionals in the true meaning of the word. The limits of nurse prescribing are not yet defined. Neither has their been any indication of responsibility. Is the prescribing nurse also to make the diagnosis or to deal with problems which might arise from the prescribed medication? Have these matters yet been considered in depth? I am left with a degree of apprehension.
M. W. Burnby Matlock, Derbyshire