Prescribing guidance

The Common Ailments Service aims to improve patient access to consistent, evidence-based advice for the management of common ailments. This document includes monographs for each of the ailments covered by the service.

The MARRS policy sets out the minimum standards of practice that must be adopted by all healthcare staff involved in the administration, recording, review, storage and disposal of medicines in healthcare organisations across Wales.

This document provides guidance for healthcare professionals regarding prescribing duration, foodstuffs, complementary medicines and alternative therapies, common ailments, fertility treatment, erectile dysfunction, prescribing for self and family, visitors from overseas, travel and occupational health vaccines, prescribing situations not covered by the NHS including private care and private prescriptions, unlicensed medicines and prescribing outside national guidance.

These guidelines aim to provide a simple effective, economical and empirical approach to the treatment of common infections; to minimise the emergence of bacterial resistance in the community.

This document aims to inform and guide healthcare staff in NHS Wales about how to start nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to manage nicotine withdrawal in adults who smoke and are admitted to hospital (secondary care).

This guide supports the appropriate prescribing and supply of smoking cessation pharmacotherapy in NHS Wales for smokers who are motivated to quit.

This document aims to guide best practice in the initiation; monitoring; review; tapering and stopping of antipsychotics for people living with dementia within NHS Wales

The prescribing of branded generics should not routinely be undertaken in NHS Wales unless there is a specific, clinical reason for doing so.

This guide aims to encourage consistent implementation of a back-up antibiotic prescribing strategy for specific self-limiting conditions in primary care.

This prescribing guidance document is intended for non-specialist practitioners engaged in supporting the prescribing and monitoring of medical therapies used in the management of gender incongruence in adults (over 18 years old). 

Resources to support healthcare professionals working in secondary care settings to remove penicillin allergy labels from patients with unconfirmed allergy.

This guideline aims to reduce variation in inhaler prescribing in the management of adult asthma and encourage consideration of the decarbonisation agenda of NHS Wales.

The aim of the Care Home Medicines Optimisation Toolkit is to bring together a suite of guidance documents, tools and useful resources for care home staff and pharmacy teams who provide advice and support to care homes.

This guideline aims to reduce variation in inhaler prescribing in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and encourage consideration of the decarbonisation agenda of NHS Wales.

These educational resources aim to support the prescribing of tramadol in NHS Wales within the complex context of pain management.

This document sets out the patient pathway for Wales, explicit in management options for each healthcare setting, referral thresholds, and national medication choices. It is a document for a national, standardised, safer and sustainable approach to asthma care in children.

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for improving the management of unlicensed ‘specials’ and off-label medicines in all sectors of healthcare in NHS Wales. This guidance encompasses primary care (general practice and community pharmacy), secondary care, and patients and carers.

These resources aim to support the prescribing of medicines used in NHS Wales for the management of pain. The resources include an analgesic stewardship guidance document, and documents advising on the pharmacological management of pain. These resources update and replace the items previously listed on our website as ‘Persistent Pain Resources’.