Changes to the arrangements for dealing with Controlled
Drug requisitions — Part I
Pharmacists are advised to note that changes have been made to the legislation regarding the way in which requisitions for Controlled Drugs in Schedules 1, 2 or 3 must be handled. (NB: Prescribers cannot normally obtain and prescribe Schedule 1 Controlled Drugs without the authority of a Home Office licence.)
The changes come into force on 1 January 2008, and apply to England, Scotland
and Wales. The requirements apply to pharmacists in community pharmacy
settings making supplies against requisitions for human use.
From 1 January 2008, the supplier of a Schedule 1, 2 or 3 Controlled Drug
against a requisition must:
(i) On receipt, mark on the requisition (in ink or otherwise indelibly)
the supplier’s (ie, the pharmacy’s) name and address. The Home
Office, the Department of Health, the Scottish Executive and the Department
of Health and Social Services (DHSS; Wales) have confirmed that a pharmacy
stamp can be used to mark these details on the requisition as long as the
full address of the pharmacy from where the supply is made is included
and the information is clear and legible.
(ii) Send the original requisition to the relevant NHS agency in accordance
with arrangements specified by that agency.
The new requirements do not apply to veterinary requisitions (ie, those
written by veterinary surgeons or veterinary practitioners).
As the requirements for a requisition state that the requisition must specify “the
recipient’s profession or occupation”, this information should
be available and clear on the requisition.
The new requirements do not make any changes to the procedures in other
settings, such as NHS hospital trusts, care homes, pharmaceutical wholesalers
and manufacturers. Midwife supply orders are not affected by these changes.
Standardised requisition forms are being produced for use in England (FP10CDF)
and Scotland (CDRF) and there are plans to introduce them in Wales. There
is no legal requirement to use these standardised requisition forms, however,
they should be used wherever possible, as a matter of good practice.
It
will still be lawful for a community pharmacist to supply against a requisition
form written in a format other than on the newly introduced standardised
forms, as long as all the legal requirements for a requisition are complied
with.
When one community pharmacy supplies another community pharmacy, both
the Society and the DoH, the Scottish Executive and the DHSS advise that,
as
a matter of good practice, a written requisition should be obtained,
and this should, ideally, be the standardised form. England The standardised requisition form being introduced in England
(FP10CDF) can be obtained in the same way as private standardised prescription
forms (ie, from primary care trusts).
Prescribers who wish to obtain stocks of Schedule 1, 2 or 3 Controlled
Drugs from a community pharmacy should use the standardised requisition
form. In exceptional circumstances, for example, when an individual prescriber
has difficulty in obtaining the standardised form, a Controlled Drug can
be supplied in response to an order written on a non-standardised form,
as long as all the legal requirements for a requisition are complied with.
Scotland The arrangements for the requisition form used in Scotland to
obtain NHS stock will remain unchanged. GP10A stock order forms will continue
to be used for NHS purposes. It should be noted that separate GP10A forms
should be used for Schedule 1, 2 and 3 Controlled Drugs.
From 1 January 2008, the Scottish Executive will advise prescribers who
wish to obtain stocks of Schedule 1, 2 and 3 Controlled Drugs privately
from a community pharmacy to use the standardised requisition form (CDRF).
Those wishing to obtain a supply of CDRF forms must contact the local NHS
board to register (if they are not already registered) as a private prescriber
with the NHS Board and to order the forms.
In exceptional circumstances, where the CDRF form cannot be accessed, a
Controlled Drug may be supplied in response to an order written on a non-standardised
form provided all the legal requirements are complied with.
Wales There are plans to introduce a specific requisition form for Welsh
prescribers to use. Further information will be published when it is received.
Part II of this Law and Ethics Bulletin, to be will be published at a
later date, will provide further details on the submission requirements
for Controlled Drug requisition forms. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal