Requirement to report matters related to conduct and fitness to practise to the Society
Pharmacists are reminded that under Rule 5 of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (Fitness to Practise and Disqualification etc) Rules 2007, which came into force on 30 March 2007, a pharmacist must notify the Registrar in writing within seven days if he or she: (a) is convicted of any criminal offence;
(b) accepts a police caution;
(c) has, in summary proceedings in Scotland in respect of an offence,
been the subject of an order discharging him or her absolutely (without
proceeding to conviction);
(d) has accepted a conditional offer under section 302 of the Criminal
Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (fixed penalty: conditional offer by procurator
fiscal);
(e) has agreed to pay a penalty under section 115A of the Social Security
Administration Act 1992 (penalty as an alternative to prosecution);
(f) is notified by a regulatory body in the UK responsible under any
enactment for the regulation of a health or social care profession of
a determination to the effect that his or her fitness to practise is
impaired, or a determination by a regulatory body elsewhere to the same
effect;
(g) becomes subject to an investigation into his or her fitness to practise
by another regulatory body (apart from the Society);
(h) becomes the subject of any fraud investigation by a body responsible
for investigating fraud in relation to the health service (for example,
the Counter Fraud and Security Management Service Division of the NHS
Business Services Authority or NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services, which
is part of the Common Services Agency); and/or
(i) is removed, contingently removed or suspended from, refused admission
to or conditionally included in any list held by a health service body
of performers or providers of pharmaceutical services on fitness to practise
grounds.
The Director of the Fitness to Practice and Legal Affairs Directorate
is authorised to accept notifications on behalf of the Registrar. The
address the registrant should write to in order to inform the Society
of any of the above is: Fitness to Practise and Legal Affairs Directorate,
Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN.
Pharmacists have a responsibility under the current Code of Ethics to “behave
with integrity and probity”. Pharmacists are further reminded that
when the new Code of Ethics comes into force there is a similar provision
that pharmacists “do not mislead or make claims that cannot be
justified” and “promptly declare to the Society, [their]
employer and other relevant authority any circumstances that may call
into question [their] fitness to practise”. This would include
notifying their profession to the police should they be charged with
any offence. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal