Scottish nurses now able to stock POMs

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) has confirmed that aesthetic nurses who own HIS-registered clinics can now legally stock prescription-only medications (POMs) on their premises. 

Despite owning their own clinics, aesthetic nurse prescribers have not previously been permitted to hold POMs, such as such as botulinum toxin and hyaluronidase, on premises without the presence of an on-site doctor. 

Scottish nurse prescriber and clinic owner Frances Turner Traill, who represents the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN) for HIS, had been in talks with HIS and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for sometime and said she was, “thrilled” with this announcement, which she believes is an important step forward in improving safety. 

She added, “The biggest issue has been not being able to hold emergency stock like hyaluronidase on premises. The window of opportunity to treat when you have a serious complication, such as a vascular occlusion, is quite small, and so being able to immediately administer hyaluronidase gives the best clinical outcome. It’s important that all practitioners can treat potential aesthetic complications and access the correct medication in an emergency situation. This will make a huge difference to do the day-to-day practice of aesthetic nurses who own clinics in Scotland. It improves patient safety, as well as convenience, as we can now have on stock things like lidocaine and botulinum toxin as well.“