Kathryn Jones says that giving nurses responsibility for prescribing offers patients faster access to medicines while making better use of staff skills

Independent nurse prescribing can improve patient care, specifically patients’ access to medicines, makes better use of nurses’ skills and can improve clinical decision making. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT), London, has 66 independent nurse prescribers working across its five hospital sites and plans are in place to train a further 30 non-medical prescribers each year. This article reviews the benefits and challenges of independent nurse prescribing and describes how ICHT supports its nurse prescribers.