Monitoring Report - Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland 2021/22

We have published our most recent report for the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

Key statistics

• The PSNI regulates the practice of pharmacists and also registers pharmacy premises in Northern Ireland
• There were 2,962 pharmacy professionals on the register; 554 pharmacies (as at 31 December 2022)

Key findings

We are pleased to report that the PSNI met all the Standards this year. It took action to address most of the concerns we reported last year about its fitness to practise process and it continued to progress investigations in a timely manner, with no concerns identified about the quality of its investigations.

The PSNI improved the transparency and accessibility of its work by publishing more information on its website, including the findings of its annual equality and diversity survey of registrants. It also used new ways to publicise the survey.

The PSNI continued implementing the education reforms for pharmacists. This was the first year of the new Foundation Training Year (FTY) and the Common Registration Assessment (CRA). We had no concerns about the implementation of the FTY. A small number of candidates sitting the CRA in June 2022 experienced delays but two other sittings took place during the review period without incident. We will continue to monitor the CRA to ensure it operates effectively.

We also urge the PSNI to re-consider its decisions not to collect diversity data about its Council members and not to publish its interpretation of its Statutory Committee powers to extend Conditions of Practice Orders at review hearings.