Mental Health Nurses as Non-Medical Prescribers-entering uncharted territory

Non-medical prescribers face increased levels of responsibility relating to the range of medicines available for them to prescribe. However, the increasing range of drugs available to prescribe highlights the need to assimilate legal knowledge - for example capacity and consent - to practise safely. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2004) directs nurses to work within their sphere of practice. Non-medical prescribers must have a firm knowledge of the NMC and National Prescribing Centre (NPC) guidelines, but it is just as important that common law and statute law should underpin practice before prescribing can commence. This paper will explore the background legislation specific to nurses acting in the non-medical prescribing role, and further highlight the challenges in knowledge within the legal concepts of consent and capacity. The paper will set out the historical perspective of non-medical prescribing legislative influences, with a focus on capacity and consent legislation