Doctors' leaders have condemned the UK government's decision to give nurses and pharmacists virtually unlimited prescribing powers.

James Johnson, the BMA's chairman, has called for an urgent meeting with the secretary of state for health, Patricia Hewitt, to discuss the proposals, which took the BMA by surprise when they were announced last week. “It is difficult to see how healthcare professionals who are not trained to diagnose disease can safely prescribe appropriate treatment,” he said.

Mrs Hewitt told the chief nursing officers' annual conference in London last week that from spring …