Independent non-medical prescribing in children’s hospices in the UK: a practice snapshot

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As a non-medical prescriber and a manager of hospice services, I was aware of some of the challenges faced by individual practitioners and organisations. For practitioners, the challenges surrounded access to training and education that supported clinical decision making and a lack of peer support, owing to the relative small size of individual hospices. The findings demonstrate the contribution that nurses are making to the prescribing needs of children and young people in hospices. This paper suggests ways in which organisations can support nurses to be effective prescribing, improving the practice of staff and therefore the care experience of children with palliative care needs, and their families.

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