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Pharmacy owners, superintendent pharmacists and premises
The GPhC will be responsible for registering pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and registered pharmacies. This 'holistic' approach seeks to ensure that both individual healthcare professionals and the environment in which they provide services are subject to regulation.
The standards that the GPhC will set in connection with the running of a pharmacy under the draft Pharmacy Order 2009 will relate to requirements to be met by:
- the person carrying on a retail pharmacy business, or
- the superintendent pharmacist who manages the retail pharmacy business carried on at the premises.
These standards will not come into force until two years after the GPhC takes over the regulatory functions from the RPSGB.
The GPhC will set standards in areas including:
- record-keeping
- standard operating procedures
- the training of staff
- incident-reporting mechanisms
- arrangements for the obtaining, safe-keeping, handling, using and safe administration of medicines or medicinal devices
- the conditions in which medicinal products are stored
- the condition of retail pharmacy premises
- the availability or condition of facilities or equipment at the premises
- waste management
- the use of the premises as a training establishment.
Development of standards
Throughout the process of developing and setting standards for registered pharmacies, pharmacy owners and/or superintendent pharmacists, the GPhC will work with others to ensure that, as far as possible, there is a consistent approach to standards-setting.
The GPhC will also aim to achieve clarity of roles between local health organisations (which will be responsible for service delivery) and the national regulator (which will be responsible for setting regulatory standards), to ensure that pharmacy practice is safe and effective.
Provisions in the draft Pharmacy Order 2009 will allow the GPhC to work closely with other relevant monitoring and inspecting bodies in order to avoid unnecessary duplication, and to develop memoranda of understanding with them.