“One responsible pharmacist per pharmacy”
Changes to personal control and supervision should only allow pharmacists to be responsible for one pharmacy at a time, the National Pharmacy Association has declared.
In a document setting out its views on the issues raised in a Department
of Health information paper (PJ, 14 January, p31), the NPA points out
that it is the Government’s stated view that the responsible pharmacist
for a pharmacy should spend the majority of his (or her) time there. “This
requirement cannot be met if he is responsible for more than one pharmacy,” the
NPA says.
Having highlighted problems it sees with the Government proposals in
terms of relationships between superintendent pharmacists, responsible
pharmacists, regular pharmacists and locum pharmacists, the NPA proposes
a model distinguishing between
the concepts of responsible pharmacist and supervision.
A pharmacist’s supervisory role should include, the NPA suggests,
assessing new prescriptions, advising on medicines and treatments for
minor ailments and dealing with issues raised by support staff that require
a pharmacist’s input. A responsible pharmacist can either carry
out these activities in person, or remotely, or could stay in the pharmacy
and delegate these tasks. “With this model, it should be possible
for a pharmacist to supervise more than one pharmacy remotely, but there
will still only be one responsible pharmacist per pharmacy,” the
NPA explains.
The NPA also rejects Government suggestions that pharmacists might need
particular additional qualifications or experience to become responsible
pharmacists. “The notion that a newly qualified pharmacist can
neither manage a pharmacy nor undertake a locum as the only pharmacist
on the premises is unacceptable,” it adds. |
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