01 December 2022
New legislation gives power to outline in rules the essential roles and responsibilities of Responsible Pharmacists and to set professional standards for Responsible Pharmacists, Superintendent Pharmacists and Chief Pharmacists.
New legislative orders commenced on December 1st which give the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland powers to outline in rules the essential roles and responsibilities of Responsible Pharmacists and to set professional standards for Responsible Pharmacists, Superintendent Pharmacists and Chief Pharmacists.
The new legislation also removes the threat of criminal sanctions for inadvertent dispensing errors in hospitals and other pharmacy settings such as prisons. The threat of criminal sanctions was removed for registered pharmacies in 2018. Extending the defences to pharmacy professionals working in hospitals and other specified pharmacy services ensures parity across the profession. This should improve patient safety by encouraging reporting of dispensing error and increasing learning opportunities.
An extensive programme of engagement and consultation on these changes will now begin. Further information about how to get involved will be shared as this programme of work gets under way in mid-January 2023. There are also plans to publish FAQs in the coming weeks.
For more information and a briefing document, please visit the GPhC website