Section 60 Order proposals out for consultation
Section 60 Order will replace the Pharmacy Act 1954 |
Long-awaited Section 60 Order proposals that herald the biggest reform of the profession for more than 50 years were published by the Department of Health this week.
Health minister Jane Kennedy said: “Things have changed tremendously
since the Pharmacy Act was introduced in 1954 and it is good to have
the opportunity to provide the profession with a structure that equips
it for the needs of the 21st century. This next step in the complete
overhaul of the regulations will provide a modern and open system for
the improved protection of patients and the benefit of health professionals.”
The draft Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians Order 2006 was welcomed
by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, which described it as a historic
document.
There was disappointment that the proposals, which are now out for public
consultation, fail to provide a GB-wide regulatory system for pharmacy
technicians. Instead, the Order proposes that the regulation of pharmacy
technicians in Scotland should become the responsibility of the Scottish
Parliament.
A 15-page briefing paper produced by the Society on the draft Order describes
its failure to create a GB-wide regulatory system for technicians as
the “single biggest concern”.The paper states: “This
will significantly limit the Society’s ability to protect, promote
and maintain the health and safety of the public in Scotland.”
Society President Hemant Patel said pharmacists would be disappointed
about the proposal. But commenting on the draft Order as a whole he said: “The
importance of these proposals, which address the modernisation of the
Society and the pharmacy profession, as well as public protection, cannot
be emphasised enough.”
Darren Leech, president of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK,
said the recommendation to separate technicians in Scotland from their
colleagues in other GB countries was illogical. He added: “We will
continue to work with all Scottish technicians in order to progress our
firm and collective view that standards should not differ between the
home countries and that [they] should be achieved through a single regulator.
I hope the department will listen to the concerns we will raise in our
response.”
The draft Order, which will be finalised following the consultation this
summer, will replace the Pharmacy Act 1954. It proposes a completely
new regulatory committee structure which will apply to pharmacists and,
for the first time, to pharmacy technicians.
Six new committees are suggested to replace the existing Statutory Committee
and take on responsibility for all facets of professional regulation,
including fitness to practise, educational standards and registration.
A health committee will consider an individual’s fitness to practise
on health grounds and will be able to impose conditions on practice or
recommend suspension from the Register.
Constant delays to publication of the Order frustrated the Society. Last
year it declared it was unacceptable when the Department of Health announced
it would be putting back publication for the fourth time. The Society
believed it had fulfilled its commitment to the Government’s modernisation
agenda for the profession on time by bringing about the creation of the
new Charter, sealed in November 2004.
Pharmacists have until 19 June 2006 to comment on the draft Order.
The Society p399 |
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