n YOUR report that "city super nurses " now have new prescribing power (Evening News, Wednesday, April 28) is welcome news, but there is anything new in this.
When I joined the former Royal Naval Sick Berth Staff more than 60 years ago, dispensing was part of our training curriculum and the subject was included in all subsequent higher rating examinations.
Often we could find ourselves in ships with fully-equipped dispensaries but no medical officer and were expected to exercise discretion.
Conversely, at other times we worked in hospital under civilian-trained nursing officers and would not be allowed to prescribe so much as an aspirin.
Disagreement on these differing aspects of training persisted for years to the extent that the Nurses Acts made specific provisions for recognising us independently of the General Nursing Council, then the statutory professional nursing authority.
What is now being introduced is nothing more than we took for granted years ago and it it is difficult to imagine how the Royal Navy could have got through The Second World War without resort to such provisions.
JOHN HINTON, Worcester
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