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The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (HMRs) are UK-wide legislation governing the sale and supply of medicinal products for human use. Exemptions within the HMRs allow certain medicines to be directly sold and/or supplied to patients by healthcare professionals.

This consultation is seeking views on proposal to amend the HMRs to update the medicines that optometrists and contact lens opticians can sell, supply and in some cases administer across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

This consultation covers proposals to: 

  • remove medicines that have been discontinued and are no longer available to be sold or supplied in the UK
  • allow all optometrists and contact lens opticians (CLOs) to provide a signed order for, or directly sell and supply specified prescription-only medicines (POMs) in an emergency, that are currently restricted to optometrists with an ‘additional supply’ (AS) qualification 
  • allow all optometrists and CLOs to provide a signed order for, or directly sell and supply specified new POMs in an emergency, to treat forms of conjunctivitis
  • allow wholesalers to supply specified topical anaesthetics to contact lens opticians so they may be used beyond contact lens fitting, such as for the removal of foreign bodies within the eye
This will enable optometrists and contact lens opticians to work within locally commissioned services to treat a range of minor eye conditions in the community. This will reduce the need for patients to see additional healthcare professionals to access medicines, increasing capacity in GPs, walk in centres, out of hours services and A&E.

 Please review the full consultation page before completing this survey.

If you navigate away from the survey, your progress will be automatically saved. If you reopen the link in the same browser that you started the survey, you will be able to continue your response.

This survey will close at 11.59pm on 27 November 2025.