October 7th 2026

By Ailsa Colquhoun

DDA26: CDs - Know where it came from… know where it went… and be able to prove it.

Know where it came from… know where it went… and be able to prove it.

That was the take home message from the DDA26 Controlling Controlled Drugs presentation by Dr Stephanie White, GP partner, The Downland Practice at the DDA 2026 Conference.

Her presentation to a packed hall took a scenario based approach to legal Controlled Drugs practice.

In a presentation for prescribers, she challenged delegates to identify the problems with the following written prescription instructions:

• Oramorph 10mg/5ml oral solution – As directed, Supply 500ml
• Morphine 10mg tablets – One twice a day, Supply 56 tablets
• Patient requesting 2-month supply of medications for a holiday

She also posed several dispensary scenarios:

Register states 59 tablets in the cupboard Dispenser counts them – there are none. What’s happened?

There were also some frequently asked questions about CD supply:

• Can someone pick up on a patient’s behalf?
• Can we deliver?
• What if the patient is not in?
• Can we use drop off points?
• Can you use a dispensing machine?
• Patient is in a rush and comes in at lunchtime when dispensary is closed. Receptionist takes the CDs. Is this OK?

For the answers to the above questions, listen to the audio (from 35:30)

Read the presentation slides.