Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 89: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the progress made on the introduction of nurse prescribing as provided for in the Irish Medicines Board Act 1995; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14121/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Since the enactment of legislation and regulations giving prescriptive authority to nurses and midwives in May 2007, the Health Service Executive has funded 248 nurses and midwives to undertake the six-month education programme provided in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and University College Cork. These nurses and midwives are from 61 clinical areas and 83 health service providers across the country.

The regulation of prescribing is twin track. In addition to provisions set out in the 2007 regulations An Bord Altranais, whose key functions include registration and regulation of nurses and midwives in Ireland, has devised a registration and notification process and has introduced practice standards for nurses and midwives with prescriptive authority. In order to prescribe a registered nurse or midwife must have successfully completed the approved education programme, have the appropriate clinical experience, be registered with An Bord Altranais as a Registered Nurse Prescriber, and have authority from the employing health service provider to prescribe a range of medicinal products within her/his scope of practice. To date a total of 70 nurses and midwives throughout the Health Service Executive have registered with An Bord Altranais and have the authority to prescribe medicinal products. This group are from a diversity of health service providers and clinical areas.

I am satisfied that significant progress has been made in relation to the introduction of nurse/midwife prescribing. Improving patient care is at the heart of this initiative with patients receiving earlier interventions and therefore a better service. Since the first Registered Nurse Prescriber wrote the first prescription in January 2008, Registered Nurse Prescribers in 20 health service providers in the Health Service Executive reported writing 2962 prescriptions for 2485 patients involving 4300 individual medicinal products.

I would also like to announce that following a comprehensive tendering process the Health Service Executive has engaged a team from University College Dublin to conduct an independent external review of nurse prescribing. The team commenced its work in January 2009 and is expected to report by the end of June 2009.