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We welcome the news that the Responsible Pharmacist Regulations
are to be reviewed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. A key issue
concerns claims that locums have turned up at pharmacies and been
asked to sign in as responsible pharmacist retrospectively because
dispensing had been carried out before the locum's arrival. Our
analysis is that under the Medicines Act, it is necessary to
distinguish between whether medicines are only prepared and
dispensed before the RP arrives, or whether they are also sold or
supplied.
If medicines are not sold or supplied, there is no need for a
Responsible Pharmacist - it is the Superintendent Pharmacist who
will be responsible for any dispensing. But if a pharmacist is not
present to supervise any dispensing, dispensing will probably be
unlawful unless the pharmacy has an assembly licence.
If sales or supplies are made (even GSLs), there must be a
RP.
Even if it were possible for a RP to take responsibility for
dispensing before he or she arrives at the pharmacy, it is
difficult to operate such a system without the RP's prior
knowledge because an RP is only permitted to be absent if the RP is
contactable throughout the period of absence (unless another
pharmacists is contactable to provide advice to the pharmacy
staff).
If a pharmacist is unaware till arrival that he or she will
have to sign in retrospectively, signing in may be ineffective
because the pharmacist will not in fact have been in charge of the
premises until arriving.
Any sale or supply of medicines that has been made before the
pharmacist's arrival may therefore have been unlawful.
A newly arrived RP can become responsible for dispensing
already done by checking and approving it.
Beware Fake Medicines - Caveat Pharmacist
The European Parliament adopted at the end of May a new
Directive on Falsified Medicines. The Directive, which relates to
fake medicines, must be incorporated into UK law (and into law in
other EU States) within 18 months. It will require manufacturers to
incorporate into medicines packaging features to verify the
authenticity of medicines. Pharmacist will no doubt carry ultimate
responsibility for checking each item supplied carries the
anti-faking features adopted by each manufacturer. Manufacturers
may be given a free hand in choosing authenticity features, so
these may vary from product to product.
Online pharmacies will also have to carry an obligatory
"trust mark" on their websites. A click on the 'trust
mark' will link the user to an official national register with
a list of all legally-operating pharmacies. If the user clicks
again on the register, he should be linked back to the website of
the legally-operating pharmacy.
Major or minor
No two geographical locations are the same, as demonstrated by
recent appeal decisions on minor relocation applications:
Urban move of 1100 metres uphill (but not arduous) = minor
Urban move of about 800 metres downhill = not minor because the
route was "not easy"
Urban move of 994 metres = refused because not in same
neighbourhood, distance described as "at the upper end of what
might be considered minor "
Move by appliance contractors of 3060 metres = refused because
not in the same neighbourhood. Although no patients visited the
existing premises and the business is a national one, supplying
patients across the country by delivering to their homes, the
Pharmacy Appeals Committee said that in terms of distance,
appliance contracts should be treated the same way as
pharmacies.
It's a Deal
Our Pharmacy Transactions Team headed by Tim Jenkins has seen a
very active two months with a large number of new instructions for
both sales and purchases.
Completed transactions handled by the Team over the period
include:-
Acting for the shareholders of The Lime Tree Company (Sussex)
Limited (operating a West Sussex based Health Centre Pharmacy) on
the sale of the entire issued share capital of the company to
Worthing Pharmacies Limited (sale brokered by Orridge Business
Sales);
Acting for the operator of a Dorset based pharmacy on its sale
to a new pharmacy contractor (sale brokered by Hutchings
Consultants Limited);
Acting for the shareholders of Oxfordshire based Jenner's
Pharmacy Limited (retail and internet pharmacy provider and
retailer of mobility aids) on the sale of the entire issued share
capital of the company to L Rowland & Company (Retail) Limited
(sale brokered by Alliance Valuers);
Acting for Lunts Pharmacies Limited on the sale (by way of
joint venture) of its Oswestry based pharmacy to Caxton Pharmacy
Limited (co-owned with TCS Health Limited).
Our understanding of pharmacy businesses enables us to offer a
competitively priced, added value, full service for clients both
large and small and whether buying or selling companies, pharmacy
partnerships or sole trader businesses.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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