In November 2017, NHS England published Items which should not routinely be prescribed in primary care: Guidance for CCGs. This guidance is for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), to support them to fulfil their duties around appropriate use of prescribing budgets – supporting them in their decision-making, to address unwarranted variation and to provide clear national advice to make local prescribing practices more effective.

PSNC responded to the consultation which preceded the publication of the guidance and proposed that where products should not generally be prescribed in primary care, the Department of Health and Social Care should be asked to consider whether some of the products should be added to Part XVIIIA (drugs, medicines and other substances that may not be ordered under the NHS). This approach would provide greater clarity for community pharmacy teams and others involved in the prescribing process on the status of individual products.

The NHS England Board also decided a full consultation should be held in early 2018 on a proposal that the prescribing of over-the-counter (OTC) products, currently prescribed at NHS expense, should be restricted in the future; a consultation on this topic commenced on 20th December 2017.

Further information is available on the PSNC website. This PSNC Briefing will assist community pharmacy teams and LPCs in the implementation of the NHS England guidance at a local level.

PSNC Briefing 002/18: NHS England Primary Care Prescribing Guidance

If you have any queries on this PSNC Briefing or you require more information, please contact Zainab Al-Kharsan, Service Development Pharmacist.

To browse other PSNC briefings on the healthcare landscape click here.