The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Wales) Regulations 2023

Restrictions on prescribing by medical practitioners

55.—(1) A medical practitioner, in the course of treating a patient to whom the practitioner is providing treatment under the contract, must comply with the following sub-paragraphs.

(2) The medical practitioner must not order on a listed medicines voucher, prescription form or a repeatable prescription, drugs, medicines or other substances specified in any directions given by the Welsh Ministers in regulations made under section 46 of the Act (GMS contracts: prescription of drugs etc) as being drugs, medicines or other substances which may not be ordered for patients in the provision of medical services under the contract.

(3) The medical practitioner must not order on a listed medicines voucher, a prescription form or repeatable prescription drugs, medicines or other substances specified in any directions given by the Welsh Ministers under section 46 of the Act (GMS contracts: prescription of drugs etc) as being a drug, medicine or other substance which can only be ordered for specified patients and for specified purposes unless—

(a) the patient is a person of the specified description,

(b) the drug, medicine or other substance is prescribed for that patient only for the specified purpose, and

(c) if the order is on a prescription form, the practitioner includes on the form the reference “SLS”.

(4) The medical practitioner must not order on a prescription form or repeatable prescription a restricted availability appliance unless—

(a) the patient is a person, or the restricted availability appliance is for a purpose, specified in the Drug Tariff, and

(b) the practitioner includes on the prescription form the reference “SLS”.

(5) The medical practitioner must not order on a repeatable prescription a controlled drug within the meaning of section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (which relates to controlled drugs and their classification for the purposes of that Act), other than a drug which is for the time being specified in Schedule 4 (controlled drugs subject to the requirements of regulations 22, 23 26 and 27) or Schedule 5 (controlled drugs excepted from the prohibition on importation, exportation and possession and subject to the requirements of regulations 24 and 26) to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.

(6) Subject to regulation 21(2)(b) and to sub-paragraph (7), nothing in the preceding sub-paragraphs prevents a medical practitioner, in the course of treating a patient to whom this sub-paragraph refers, from prescribing a drug, medicine or other substance or, as the case may be, a restricted availability appliance or a controlled drug within the meaning of section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (which relates to controlled drugs and their classification for the purposes of that Act), for the treatment of that patient under a private arrangement.

(7) Where, under sub-paragraph (6), a drug, medicine or other substance is prescribed under a private arrangement, if the order is to be transmitted as an electronic communication to an NHS pharmacist for the drug, medicine or appliance to be dispensed—

(a) if the order is not for a drug for the time being specified in Schedule 2 (controlled drugs subject to the requirements of regulations 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 26 and 27) or 3 (controlled drugs subject to the requirements of regulations 14, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 26 and 27) to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, it may be transmitted by the Electronic Prescription Service, but

(b) if the order is for a drug for the time being specified in Schedule 2 (controlled drugs subject to the requirements of regulations 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 26 and 27) or 3 (controlled drugs subject to the requirements of regulations 14, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 26 and 27) to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, it must be transmitted by the Electronic Prescription Service.