Concerns over new supervision provisions raised
Concerns over changes to responsibility and supervision in community pharmacies were raised during the second reading of the Health Bill in the House of Lords last week.
Baroness Murphy, a cross-bencher with a special interest in health, told
health minister Lord Warner that if the provisions in the Health Bill
are not properly implemented they may have the unintended consequences
of lessening the public’s access to a community pharmacist in more
deprived areas and providing fewer safeguards for patients in terms of
supervision of their medicines.
“I fear that companies with several pharmacies will simply reduce
the number of qualified pharmacists they employ in some areas,” she
said. She asked Lord Warner for reassurance that there will be one responsible
pharmacist for every community pharmacy.
Regarding supervision, Baroness Murphy asked how the Regulations can
be drawn to ensure that the absence of a pharmacist will be permitted
only in specific and defined exceptional circumstances, yet be designed
to ensure that the responsible pharmacist has sufficient time and flexibility
to offer other services away from the pharmacy.
Lord Warner replied: “We are trying to ensure that there will be
a responsible pharmacist in charge of every pharmacy, even those open
100 hours a week. That pharmacy is expected to be their main place of
work. There will be exceptions to the ‘one responsible pharmacist’ rule
only in exceptional circumstances.” He gave the example of a pharmacist-controlled
vending machine, where, he said, it would not be sensible to require
a responsible pharmacist to stand by the machine.
Lynsey Balmer, head of professional ethics at the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, told The Journal: “It is the Society’s position
that pharmacies should not operate for prolonged periods without the
presence of a pharmacist and that steps must be taken to ensure that
patient access to pharmaceutical services is not unduly compromised if
the pharmacist is absent.”
She added: “It is proposed that much of the detail of the changes
of the Health Bill are to be written into Regulations. These Regulations
will need careful consideration if they are to deliver the changes the
profession seeks while maintaining patient safety. The Society will be
seeking to influence the
regulation-making process to help ensure this balance is achieved.”
In response to a question from Lord Walton of Detchant, Lord Warner confirmed
that the Government expects to work closely with pharmacy organisations,
such as the Society, in drawing up the Regulations, which will clearly
define the activities that pharmacists must undertake themselves and
those that can be delegated to other competent staff. |
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