Guidance on exemptions from new staff training requirements
Detailed guidance has been published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society explaining how pharmacists can ensure that existing dispensing and pharmacy assistants involved in pharmacy services can continue working without needing a new qualification once the regulation of such assistants begins next year. The guidance appears in an eight-page centre pull-out (PDF 100K)
in this issue of The Journal.
Under the Society’s new minimum competence requirement for dispensing/pharmacy
assistants, which comes into force on 1 January 2005, staff will be required
to undertake a training programme equivalent to relevant units of the
new Scottish/National Vocational Qualification level 2 qualification
in pharmacy services. The guidance explains how pharmacists can take
advantage of a transitional arrangement, known as a “grandparent
clause”, which allows existing staff to be exempted from the new
requirement.
Exemption will only be granted if the supervising pharmacist provides
the Society with a formal declaration of competence for each qualifying
dispensing/pharmacy assistant by 31 December 2004. The guidance explains
that the grandparent clause offers two ways in which dispensing/pharmacy
assistants may qualify for exemption if they have either:
• Already completed an approved course that the Society accepts as equivalent
to the S/NVQ level 2 qualification and have been declared competent by
a supervising pharmacist; or
• Undertaken relevant work experience and have been assessed and declared
competent by a supervising pharmacist.
The supervising pharmacist will be required to indicate those areas
of work where the employee has specific duties and
is deemed to be competent — defined as “having the necessary
skills, knowledge and attitudes to undertake a job properly and consistently”.
The pull-out includes a detailed support guide to help the supervising
pharmacist decide whether or not a member of staff working as a dispensing/pharmacy
assistant can satisfactorily be declared competent in the duties they
undertake. A “declaration of competence” form, which may
be photocopied, appears on the final page of the document. Additional
copies may be downloaded from the Society’s website (www.rpsgb.org).
Queries about the transitional arrangements may be directed to a dedicated
telephone helpline number (020 7572 2577) or a dedicated e-mail address
(gp2@rpsgb.org).
Further information about the “grandparent clause” exemptions,
including responses to frequently asked questions, will appear in future
issues of The Journal.
Who is affected by the new competence requirement
?
From 1 January 2005 pharmacists will have a professional
obligation to ensure that dispensing/ pharmacy assistants are competent
in
the areas in which they are working to a minimum standard equivalent
to the new Pharmacy Services Scottish/National Vocational Qualification
level 2 qualification or undertaking training towards this.
The Society’s Council has confirmed that the requirement
should apply to staff involved in any of seven activities:
• Sale of over-the-counter medicines and the provision of information
to customers on symptoms and products
• Prescription receipt and collection
• Assembly of prescribed items (including generation of labels)
• Ordering, receiving and storing pharmaceutical stock
• Supply of pharmaceutical stock
• Preparation for the manufacture of pharmaceutical products (including
aseptic products)
• Manufacture and assembly of medicinal products (including aseptic
products)
Staff who meet the Society’s requirements
for medicines counter assistants may continue to be involved
in the first two
activities (OTC medicines and prescription receipt and collection)
without having to meet the new requirements. The requirements do
not apply to staff with pharmacy technician qualifications who
intend to register with the Society. |
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Pharmaceutical Journal