The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published plans to amend current pharmacy legislation on dispensing errors and clarify how registered pharmacies are governed.
The Department’s response to a public consultation on rebalancing medicines legislation and pharmacy regulation programme first proposed in summer 2018 was delayed due to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The programme aims to clarify and strengthen the organizational governance arrangements of registered pharmacies, specifically to define and clarify the core purpose of the Responsible Pharmacist and Superintendent Pharmacist roles.
It will also give the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) powers to define in professional standards how those roles are fulfilled.
These plans are part of a wider commitment from the government to pursue legislative change to make better use of the skill mix in pharmacy teams to deliver more clinical services in the community and support wider NHS capacity.
The orders will now progress through Parliament and, pending approval by both Houses, would need final approval by the Privy Council before they can commence.
