title: Controlled drugs and the principle of double effect: the role of the district nurse.
abstract: The role of district nurses in the effective management of pain in palliative care has been strengthened by the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment No.2) (England, Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2012 that allow district nurses who are independent or supplementary prescribers to prescribe and administer controlled drugs. However, prescribing controlled drugs brings increased responsibility and accountability for the safe management of these medicines. In this article Richard Griffith considers the principle of double effect that seeks to ensure that patients in intractable pain receive the analgesia they require to manage that pain while district nurses avoid liability and prosecution under the law of murder.
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer in Health Law, College of Health Science, Swansea University.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Griffith
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000941:ethics*; D034723:Double Effect Principle; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D024802:Nurse's Role; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing*; D010166:Palliative Care; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics
keywords: controlled drugs; oblique intention to murder; principle of double effect