Last year’s change in legislation allowing dental hygienists and therapists to supply and administer certain prescription only medicines (POMs) has enabled dental practices to make much better use of the skills within their dental team. The change supports delivery of care through direct access and has been warmly welcomed by the General Dental Council.
The change to legislation has prompted a number of questions from dental care professionals seeking to ensure they have adequate indemnity arrangements in place.
Dental Protection has addressed these concerns and reassured dental hygienists and therapists that the supply and administration of these POMs is viewed as part of their role and is included within existing membership categories.
“The change allowing dental hygienists and therapists to supply and administer these medicines was a positive step forward and removed a barrier that was unnecessarily hampering the delivery of patient care,” said Deputy Dental Director, Yvonne Shaw.
“A number of courses are now available offering training that supports working within the new legislative framework. It is important that dental hygienists and therapists ensure any course undertaken is appropriate and meets their training needs.
“As more colleagues embrace this new way of working, we can provide reassurance that dental hygienist and therapist membership includes the supply and administration of prescription only medicines in accordance with the exemptions legislation.”
The new legislation came into force on June 26 2024 within the Human Medicines (Amendments relating to Registered Dental Hygienists, Registered Dental Therapists and Registered Pharmacy Technicians) Regulations 2024.
It enables dental hygienists and therapists to supply and administer POMs under an exemption mechanism, without the need for a patient-specific direction or a patient group direction being in place. Details of the medicines included under these exemptions can be found in our membership FAQs.
There is no obligation for dental hygienists and therapists to administer POMs, stressed Dr Shaw, but those that do must ensure that they have received appropriate training. When considering which course is appropriate, the GDC has strongly encouraged dental hygienists and therapist to select a course following the curriculum developed by the British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT) and the British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy (BSDHT).