Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Deferred
Paragraph: 52
Set out impact of Patient Safety Alerts on private prescribing and enforcement measures.
Recommendation
In their response to this report, the Government should set out what impact it believes National Patient Safety Alerts have on private prescribing and what scrutiny and enforcement measures are in place to ensure private prescribers adhere to these alerts.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the point but then discusses the new HIV Action Plan for 2025-30 and PrEP access, mentioning pilot studies for PrEP delivery, without addressing the impact of National Patient Safety Alerts on private prescribing or their enforcement.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
52
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
National Patient Safety Alerts (NPSAs) apply to all prescribers. The government expects providers of healthcare services and those with responsibility for prescribing to take appropriate account of national guidance. Professional regulators have issued joint statements (Joint statement on meeting regulatory standards during periods of global or national shortage of medicines | General Pharmaceutical Council (pharmacyregulation.org) Joint statement on meeting regulatory standards during periods of global or national shortage of medicines – an update | General Pharmaceutical Council (pharmacyregulation.org) making clear that all prescribers, regardless of employer, should take into account NPSAs and other public health considerations when making prescribing decisions. The General Medical Council deems Medicine Supply Notifications, i.e., national advice to healthcare professionals on management options during a shortage, as national guidance and expects their members – who may work in the NHS and / or the private sector – to follow them.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗