Rebalancing Medicines Legislation and Pharmacy Regulation

We have published our response to the Department of Health consultation on Rebalancing Medicines Legislation and Pharmacy Regulation: draft Orders under section 60 of the Health Act 1999.

Background on the consultation

The Government has asked for views on the proposals set out in the two pharmacy related draft Orders. These relate to:

• the introduction of a defence to prosecution for pharmacy professionals where an inadvertent error is made in dispensing or compounding a medicine, and setting out the conditions which need to be met for the defence to apply, and
• removal of the requirement for the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to set standards for registered pharmacy premises in rules, requiring the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI)to set statutory pharmacy standards, revision the GPhC’s enforcement powers in respect of registered pharmacies and making the same changes for PSNI, where appropriate, and certain other changes.