The Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997 and shall come into force on 18th August 1997.

(2) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires–

“the Act” means the Medicines Act 1968;

“aerosol” means a product which is dispersed from its container by a propellent gas or liquid;

“appropriate nurse practitioner” means–

(a)

a person who–

(i)

is registered in Part 1 or 12 of the Register maintained by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting under section 10 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979(1) (referred to below in this definition as “the professional register”), and

(ii)

has a district nursing qualification additionally recorded in the professional register under rule 11 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Rules 1983(2); or

(b)

a person who is registered in Part 11 of the professional register as a health visitor;

against whose name (in each case) is recorded in the professional register an annotation signifying that he is qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances for patients;

[F1“Common Services Agency” means the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service established under section 10 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978;]

[F1“Community marketing authorization” means a marketing authorization granted by the European Community under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2309/93;]

“controlled drug” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971(3);

“cyanogenetic substances” means preparations which–

(a)

are presented for sale or supply under the name of, or as containing, amygdalin, laetrile or vitamin B17, or

(b)

contain more than 0.1 per cent by weight of any substance having the formula either α-Cyanobenzyl-6-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-β-d-glucopyranoside or α-Cyanobenzyl-β-d-glucopy ranosiduronic acid;

“dosage unit” means–

(a)

where a medicinal product is in the form of a tablet or capsule or is an article in some other similar pharmaceutical form, that tablet, capsule or other article, or

(b)

where a medicinal product is not in any such form, the unit of measurement which is used as the unit by reference to which the dose of the medicinal product is measured;

“external use” means application to the skin, hair, teeth, mucosa of the mouth, throat, nose, ear, eye, vagina or anal canal when a local action only is intended and extensive systemic absorption is unlikely to occur; and references to medicinal products for external use shall be read accordingly except that such references shall not include throat sprays, throat pastilles, throat lozenges, throat tablets, nasal drops, nasal sprays, nasal inhalations or teething preparations;

[F1“Health Authority”—

(a)

in relation to England and Wales, has the same meaning as in the National Health Service Act 1977;

(b)

in relation to Scotland, means a Health Board constituted under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978; and

(c)

in relation to Northern Ireland, means a Health and Social Services Board established under Article 16 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972;]

“health prescription” means a prescription issued by a doctor, dentist or nurse prescriber under or by virtue of–

(a)

in England and Wales, the National Health Service Act 1977(4),

(b)

in Scotland, the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(5), and

(c)

in Northern Ireland, the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(6);

[F1“homoeopathic certificate of registration” means a certificate of registration for the purposes of the Medicines (Homoeopathic Medicinal Products For Human Use) Regulations 1994;]

“inhaler” does not include an aerosol;

[F1“marketing authorization” includes a reference both to a United Kingdom marketing authorization and to a Community marketing authorization;]

“master” has the same meaning as in section 313(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(7);

“maximum daily dose” or “MDD” means the maximum quantity of a substance contained in the amount of a medicinal product which it is recommended should be taken or administered in a period of 24 hours;

“maximum dose” or “MD” means the maximum quantity of a substance contained in the amount of a medicinal product which it is recommended should be taken or administered at any one time;

“maximum strength” means–

(a)

the maximum quantity of a substance by weight or volume contained in a dosage unit of a medicinal product;

(b)

the maximum percentage of a substance contained in a medicinal product calculated in any of the following ways–

(i)

weight in weight,

(ii)

weight in volume,

(iii)

volume in weight, or

(iv)

volume in volume,

and if the maximum percentage calculated in those ways differs, the higher or highest such percentage;

“medicinal product” includes any article or substance in respect of which section 58 of the Act has effect by virtue of an order made under section 104 of the Act, but does not include–

(a)

a medicinal product which is a veterinary drug as defined in section 132(1) of the Act or

(b)

an article or substance in respect of which section 58 has such effect where that article or substance is only to be administered to animals;

“the Misuse of Drugs Regulations” means, in relation to England, Wales and Scotland, the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985(8) and in relation to Northern Ireland, the Misuse of Drugs (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1986(9);

[F1“NHS trust”—

(a)

in relation to England and Wales, has the same meaning as in the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990;

(b)

in relation to Scotland, has the same meaning as in the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978; and

(c)

in relation to Northern Ireland, means a Health and Social Services trust established under article 10 of the Health and Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;]

“occupational health scheme” means a scheme in which a person, in the course of a business carried on by him, provides facilities for his employees for the treatment or prevention of disease;

“offshore installation” means an offshore installation within the meaning of the Mineral Workings (Offshore Installations) Act 1971(10) which is within–

(a)

tidal waters and parts of the sea in or adjacent to the United Kingdom up to the seaward limits of territorial waters;

(b)

waters in any area designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964(11);

“operator”, in relation to an aircraft, means the person for the time being having the management of the aircraft;

“parenteral administration” means administration by breach of the skin or mucous membrane;

[F1“Patient Group Direction” means—

(a)

in connection with the supply of a prescription only medicine as referred to in article 12A(2), 12B or 12C, a written direction relating to the supply and administration of a description or class of prescription only medicine; or

(b)

in connection with the administration of a prescription only medicine as referred to in article 12A(2), 12B or 12C, a written direction relating to the administration of a description or class of prescription only medicine,

  • and which, in the case of either (a) or (b)—

    (i)

    is signed by a doctor or dentist, and by a pharmacist; and

    (ii)

    relates to supply and administration, or to administration, to persons generally (subject to any exclusions which may be set out in the Direction);]

“prescription only medicine” means a medicinal product of a description or falling within a class specified in article 3 of this Order;

[F1“Primary Care Trust” has the same meaning as in the National Health Service Act 1977;]

“prolonged release” in relation to a medicinal product means a formulation of that product which–

(a)

is used to reduce the rate at which the active ingredient in that product is released after administration, and

(b)

is sold or supplied as a prolonged, controlled or sustained release medicinal product;

“registered midwife” means a person who is registered in Part 10 of the Register maintained by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting under section 10 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979;

“registered nurse” means a person who is registered in the Register maintained by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting under section 10 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979;

“registered ophthalmic optician” means a person who is registered in either of the Registers of ophthalmic opticians maintained under section 7(a) of the Opticians Act 1989(12);

“repeatable prescription” means a prescription which contains a direction that it may be dispensed more than once;

“sell” means sell by retail as defined in section 131 of the Act and “sale” has a corresponding meaning;

“soap” means any compound of a fatty acid with an alkali or amine;

[F1“Special Health Authority”—

(a)

in relation to England and Wales, has the same meaning as in the National Health Service Act 1977;

(b)

in relation to Scotland, means a Special Health Board constituted under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978; and

(c)

in relation to Northern Ireland, means a Special Health and Social Services Agency established under the Health and Personal Social Services (Special Agencies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990;]

“state registered chiropodist” means a person who is registered in the Register established and maintained under section 2(1) of the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1960(13) by the Chiropodists Board;

[F1“state registered paramedic” means a person who is registered in the register established and maintained under section 2(1) of the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1960 by the Paramedics Board;]

“supply” means supply in circumstances corresponding to retail sale as defined in section 131 of the Act;

“unit preparation” means a preparation, including a mother tincture, prepared by a process of solution, extraction or trituration with a view to being diluted tenfold or one hundredfold, either once or repeatedly, in an inert diluent, and then used either in this diluted form or, where applicable, by impregnating tablets, granules, powders or other inert substances.

[F1“United Kingdom marketing authorization” means a marketing authorization granted by the licensing authority under the Medicines For Human Use (Marketing Authorisations Etc.) Regulations 1994 (including a product licence having effect as such an authorization by virtue of Schedule 6 to those Regulations).]

(3) For the purposes of this Order, the equivalence of a substance to a reference material shall be determined by calculating the amount of that reference material which is contained in that substance either by weight or, where the amount of the reference material is specified in terms of international units of activity, those units.

(4) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference–

(a)to a numbered section is to the section of the Act which bears that number,

(b)to a numbered article or Schedule is to the article of, or Schedule to, this Order which bears that number,

(c)in an article or in a Part of a Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph of that article or Part of that Schedule which bears that number, and

(d)in a paragraph to a lettered sub-paragraph is to the sub-paragraph of that paragraph which bears that letter.

(5) In [F2Schedules 1, 2 and 5]–

(a)entries specified in columns 2 to 5 relate to the substances listed in column 1 against which they appear and where, in relation to a particular substance listed in column 1, an entry in columns 2 to 5 bears a number or letter it relates only to such entries in the other of those columns as bear the same number or letter;

(b)the following abbreviations are used:

  • “g” for gram,

  • “iu” for international unit of activity,

  • “mcg” for microgram,

  • “mg” for milligram,

  • “ml” for millilitre.

(6) In Schedule 3, the abbreviation “NPF” means the Nurse Prescribers' Formulary Appendix in the British National Formulary.

[F3(7) In articles 12 to 12C, a reference to a prescription only medicine being sold or supplied for the purpose of being administered in accordance with the written directions of a doctor or dentist relating to a particular person, or in accordance with a Patient Group Direction, includes a reference to it being sold or supplied in accordance with such directions or such a Direction.

(8) In articles 12A and 12C, a reference to an arrangement for the supply or adminstration of prescription only medicines includes a reference to an arrangement which covers such supply or administration and other matters.

(9) In Schedule 7, Part I, a reference to treatment of a clinical situation includes a reference to any form of management of that situation.]

Textual Amendments

(1)

1979 c. 36; the Parts of the professional register were determined by S.I. 1983/667, amended by S.I. 1989/104 and 1989/1455.

(2)

Approved by S.I. 1983/873, to which there are amendments not relevant to this Order.

(10)

1971 c. 61; section 1 was substituted by section 24 of the Oil and Gas (Enterprise) Act 1982 (c. 23).