Before the expiry of that licence an application for a further licence must be made - renewal is not automatic. Ordinarily, licences are issued to individual companies at individual premises (buildings) and valid for a period of 12 months. All applications are subject to risk-assessed considerations and premises can be visited by a Home Office compliance officer. It is not a right and can only be issued upon satisfactory completion of an application process and payment of the associated fee. Holding a HO controlled drug licence is an earned privilege. This is irrespective of whether a healthcare professional, or Casualty Care certificate holder administers them. So, for mountain rescue purposes, mountain rescue organisations require Home Office licensing to lawfully possess small stocks of controlled drugs for the purposes of administration (giving) to casualties ‘in the field’. The Home Office Licensing held by mountain rescue organisations exists to enable the teams to obtain their own stocks. In short, CDs used in a ‘day job’ should not be dual used in mountain rescue settings. This licence is schedule and activity specific (e.g., Schedule 2 - to possess and supply), and occasionally may be limited to specific drugs, or restrict the amounts that can be held lawfully. Where possession or use of a drug is prohibited by the MDA 1971, it can only be lawfully handled when specifically authorised (under the 2001 Regulations) by an individual or organisation in possession of a valid Home Office licence for that purpose. Possession and supply of controlled drugs This Licensing regime operates under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and the Home Office are the competent authority for these purposes in Great Britain. The MDA 1971 sets out a number of ‘restrictions’ in respect of CD use, and it provides for the operation of a licensing regime to enable the lawful use of drugs in certain limited circumstances. Schedule 2 - Morphine, Diamorphine, Fentanyl, Ketamine. A very few drugs have restrictions on who can prescribe them, but these do not affect any controlled drugs used in mountain rescue settings.ĭrugs which may be used in mountain rescue settings include: Many of these drugs have recognised therapeutic benefits and are available to the public in the form of a ‘medicinal product’ and generally on prescription only.ĬDs are sub-divided into ‘schedules’, on account of the ‘type’ of drug and potential for misuse/harm. Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (MDR 2001) These controlled drugs (CDs) are listed in Legislation Controlled drugs and schedulesĬertain drugs are ‘controlled’ under UK law on account of the potential harm they pose to people consuming them, and the risk of them being diverted for illicit use. MHRA - Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency Mountain rescue organisation - representative body (e.g., Mountain Rescue England and Wales, Scottish Mountain Rescue, Independent Scottish Mountain Rescue TeamsĬasualty Care exam - the MREW Casualty Care Certificate Examination Mountain / cave rescue team (M/CRT) - a mountain / cave rescue team It has been produced in association with the governing organisations for GB Mountain Rescue Teams, the Drug and Firearms Licensing Unit (DFLU) at the Home Office and the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Products Agency (MHRA).ĬD - a controlled drug as defined by the Home Office under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 This document aims to define best practice associated with the use of controlled drugs by mountain and cave rescue teams covered by a Home Office ‘licence granting a group authority’.
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