Society guidance on inspectors' new CD role
Guidance on a new role for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's inspectors in the monitoring and inspection of Controlled Drugs in England and Scotland has been issued by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Fitness to Practise and Legal Affairs Directorate.
The guidance, which appears as an article in The Journal this week (see
p702), has been timed to coincide with the appearance of
the Controlled
Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) Regulations 2006 (see p679) which, early in 2007, will implement recommendations
made in the fourth report of the Shipman Inquiry.
The article explains that, in addition to their existing responsibilities,
the Society’s inspectors will take over the role of CD monitoring
and inspection in community pharmacies in England and Scotland, a role
currently carried out by police CD inspectors. (In Wales, new arrangements
for CD monitoring and inspection in community pharmacies have yet to
be finalised.)
The inspection of CDs in England and Scotland will be covered during
the Society inspectors’ routine visits to community pharmacies,
which currently take place on average at least once every three years.
The inspectors will check compliance with the legislation and with any
professional guidance issued by the Society. The aim, says the article,
will be to help pharmacies achieve compliance through advice and support,
with encouragement to develop safe systems for managing and using CDs
and to take responsibility for service provision to ensure patient safety.
The inspectors will be required to comply with a set of standards drawn
up to cover inspection across the whole of health and social care. They
will also be expected to comply with 10 principles of inspection set
out in the Government’s Policy on Inspection of Public Services.
Police CD inspectors will no longer routinely visit pharmacies but will
have a wider remit across the whole of health and social care in relation
to the management and use of CDs.
The article adds that from 2007 the Society’s annual premises retention
fee cycle will require pharmacy owners to make a declaration in relation
to the management and use of CDs in their pharmacies.
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