The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 clause 11 Exemption for Midwives allows midwives to have in their possession controlled drugs required for their professional practice; this includes pethidine, a Schedule 2 Controlled Drug.
We have included the offer of home birth as a choice in our framework document “Maternity Matters: Choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service”, published in April. Home births should be offered within a risk management framework and with adequate local infrastructure and support. It will be for local providers to ensure there are arrangements in place for midwives attending home births to obtain pethidine within existing regulations.