Pharmacists and pharmacy owners may have recently received correspondence from the GPhC regarding two new legislative orders than came into force on 1st December 2022.
These orders deal with changes to how sanctions are applied for errors in non-community pharmacy settings (such as hospitals) and the roles and responsibilities of Superintendent Pharmacists (SIPs) and Responsible Pharmacists (RPs).
Whilst the GPhC plan to start engaging with the sector regarding these changes early in 2023, there is one important consequence of these orders which takes immediate effect. This is likely to have gone below the radar of many pharmacy owners.
The Medicines Act 1968 set out the legal obligations of SIPs for Body Corporates (Limited Companies) and, importantly, stated that a person could only be the Superintendent for one body corporate at a time. For pharmacy owners with complex corporate structures, or those acquiring new pharmacies by way of company acquisitions, this has necessitated finding new SIPs every time they acquired or set up a new company which owned community pharmacies.
The introduction of The Pharmacy (Responsible Pharmacists, Superintendent Pharmacists etc.) Order 2022 removes the restrictions on only being SIP of one company at a time. Instead, SIPs must now be senior person within the organisation who is in a position to influence how that company operates in respect of professional standards and governance.
Whilst this will be welcomed by many pharmacy owners, who will have the opportunity to simplify how their organisations are structured, it does pose an important question for those who have multiple SIPs at present and the role played by those pharmacists.
If you would like any further information on how these changes might affect your company, please contact us.
