The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004

Independent nurse prescribers and supplementary prescribers

58.—(1) Where—

(a) a contractor employs or engages a person who is an independent nurse prescriber or a supplementary prescriber whose functions will include prescribing;

(b) a contractor is a partnership and one of the partners is an independent nurse prescriber or a supplementary prescriber whose functions will include prescribing; or

(c) the functions of a person who is an independent nurse prescriber or a supplementary prescriber whom the contractor already employs or has already engaged are extended to include prescribing,

it shall notify the Health Board in writing within the period of 7 days beginning with the date on which the contractor employed or engaged the person, the party became a party to the contract (unless, immediately before becoming such a party, the person fell under paragraph (1)(a)) or the person’s functions were extended, as the case may be.

(2) Where—

(a) the contractor ceases to employ or engage a person who is an independent nurse prescriber or a supplementary prescriber whose functions included prescribing in its practice;

(b) the partner in a partnership who is an independent nurse prescriber or a supplementary prescriber whose functions include prescribing, ceases to be partner in a partnership;

(c) the functions of a person who is an independent nurse prescriber or a supplementary prescriber whom the contractor employs or engages in its practice are changed so that they no longer include prescribing in its practice; or

(d) the contractor becomes aware that a person who is an independent nurse prescriber or a supplementary prescriber whom the contractor employs or engages has been removed or suspended from the relevant register,

it shall notify the Health Board in writing by the end of the second working day after the day when the event occurred.

(3) The contractor shall provide the following information when it notifies the Health Board in accordance with sub-paragraph (1)—

(a) the person’s full name;

(b) the person’s professional qualifications;

(c) the person’s identifying number which appears in the relevant register;

(d) the date on which the person’s entry in the relevant register was annotated to the effect that the person was qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances for patients;

(e) the date—

(i) on which the person was employed or engaged, if applicable,

(ii) the person became a partner in the partnership, if applicable, or

(iii) on which one of the person’s functions became prescribing in its practice.

(4) The contractor shall provide the following information when it notifies the Health Board in accordance with sub-paragraph (2)—

(a) the person’s full name;

(b) the person’s professional qualifications;

(c) the person’s identifying number which appears in the relevant register;

(d) the date—

(i) the person ceased to be employed or engaged in its practice,

(ii) the person ceased to be partner in the partnership,

(iii) the person’s functions changed so as no longer to include prescribing, or

(iv) on which the person was removed or suspended from the relevant register.