title: Controlled drugs and the principle of double effect.
abstract: The role of district nurses in the effective management of pain in palliative care has been strengthened by recent amendments to the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 2005 that allow district nurses who are independent or supplementary prescribers to prescribe and administer controlled drugs. However, the right to prescribe controlled drugs also brings increased responsibility and accountability for the safe management of these medicines. In this article Richard Griffith outlines the changes to the law relating to controlled drugs and calls for a clarification of the principle of double effect, to ensure patients in intractable pain receive the analgesia they require to manage their pain and district nurses avoid liability and prosecution under the law of murder.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Science, Swansea University. richard.griffith@swan.ac.uk
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Griffith
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000506:poisoning / Q000627:therapeutic use; D034723:Double Effect Principle; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000941:ethics* / Q000451:nursing*; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid