Medicines Act 1968

Persons lawfully conducting retail pharmacy business

69 General provisions

(1) Subject to the provisions of any order made under section 73 of this Act, a person carrying on a retail pharmacy business shall be taken to be a person lawfully conducting such a business if, not being disqualified by virtue of section 80 of this Act.—

(a) that person (or, if the business is carried on by a partnership, each, or, in Scotland, one or more, of the partners) is a pharmacist and the conditions specified in section 70 of this Act are fulfilled in relation to the business, or

(b) that person is a body corporate and the conditions specified in section 71 of this Act are fulfilled in relation to the business, or

(c) that person is a representative of a pharmacist (as defined by section 72 of this Act) and the conditions specified in subsection (2) of that section are fulfilled in relation to him and in relation to the business and the period applicable in accordance with subsection (3) of that section has not expired.

(2) For the purposes of the application of this Part of this Act to a business which—

(a) is or is to be carried on in one or more separate or distinct parts (but not the whole) of a building, whether it is or is to be also carried on elsewhere or not, or

(b) so far as concerns the retail sale of medicinal products, or the supply of such products in circumstances corresponding to retail sale, is or is to be carried on in one or more separate or distinct parts (but not the whole) of a building, whether it is or is to be carried on elsewhere or not,

each such part of that building shall be taken to be separate premises.

(3) In this Part of this Act—

• " the appointed day " means such day as the Ministers may by order appoint for the purposes of this Part of this Act;

• " the board ", in relation to a body corporate, means the body of persons controlling the body corporate, by whatever name called;

• " the Council " means the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society;

• " the registrar " in relation to Great Britain means the person appointed under section 1 of the [1954 c. 61.] Pharmacy Act 1954 as registrar for the purposes of that Act, and in relation to Northern Ireland means the person appointed under section 8(1) of the [1925 c. 8 (N.I.).] Pharmacy and Poisons Act (Northern Ireland) 1925 as registrar for the purposes of that Act;

• " the Statutory Committee " in relation to Great Britain means the committee appointed under section 7 of the Pharmacy Act 1954, and in relation to Northern Ireland means the committee appointed under section 12 of the [1945 c. 9 (N.I.).] Medicines, Pharmacy and Poisons Act (Northern Ireland) 1945.

70 Business carried on by individual pharmacist or by partners

(1) Subject to the next following subsection, the conditions referred to in section 69(1)(a) of this Act are that, at all premises where the business is carried on and medicinal products, other than medicinal products on a general sale list, are sold by retail—

(a) the business, so far as concerns the retail sale at those premises of medicinal products (whether they are medicinal products on a general sale list or not), or the supply at those premises of such products in circumstances corresponding to retail sale, is under the personal control of the person carrying on the business or that of another pharmacist, and

(b) his name and certificate of registration or those of the other pharmacist, as the case may be, are conspicuously exhibited.

(2) In relation to a business carried on by a partnership the preceding subsection shall have effect as if—

(a) in paragraph (a) of that subsection, for the word " person ", there were substituted the words " one or more of the partners ", and

(b) in paragraph (b) of that subsection, for the words " his name and certificate of registration ", there were substituted the words " the name and certificate of registration of the partner (or, if more than one, of each partner) exercising personal control at those premises as mentioned in the preceding paragraph ".

In the application of this subsection to Scotland, for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(a) in paragraph (a) of that subsection, for the words " the person carrying on the business " there were substituted the words " one or more of the partners who are pharmacists”, and

(3) In this section and in sections 71 and 72 of this Act " certificate of registration " in relation to Great Britain means a certificate of registration under the [1954 c. 61.] Pharmacy Act 1954, and in relation to Northern Ireland means a certificate of registration within the meaning of the [1945 c. 9 (N.I.).] Medicines, Pharmacy and Poisons Act (Northern Ireland) 1945.

71 Bodies corporate

(1) The conditions referred to in section 69(1)(b) of this Act are that the business, so far as concerns the keeping, preparing and dispensing of medicinal products other than medicinal products on a general sale list, is under the management of a superintendent in respect of whom the requirements specified in subsection (2) of this section are fulfilled, and that, at all premises where the business is carried on and medicinal products, other than medicinal products on a general sale list, are sold by retail—

(a) the business, so far as concerns the retail sale at those premises of medicinal products (whether they are medicinal products on a general sale list or not) or the supply at those premises of such products in circumstances corresponding to retail sale, if it is not under the personal control of the superintendent, is carried on, subject to the directions of the superintendent, under the personal control of a manager or assistant who is a pharmacist, and

(b) the name and certificate of registration of the person under whose personal control the business is carried on at those premises as mentioned in the preceding paragraph (whether he is the superintendent or some other person) are conspicuously exhibited.

(2) The requirements referred to in the preceding subsection in relation to a superintendent are that—

(a) the superintendent is a pharmacist;

(b) a statement in writing signed by him, and signed on behalf of the body corporate, specifying his name and stating whether he is a member of the board of that body or not, has been sent to the registrar; and

(c) he does not act in a similar capacity for any other body corporate.

72 Representative of pharmacist in case of death or disability

(1) The provisions of this section shall have effect where a pharmacist carries on a retail pharmacy business and—

(a) he dies, or

(b) he is adjudged bankrupt or enters into a composition or scheme or deed of arrangement with his creditors, or, in Scotland, sequestration of his estate is awarded or he makes a trust deed for behoof of his creditors or a composition contract, or

(c) a receiver is appointed for him under Part VIII of the [1959 c. 72.] Mental Health Act 1959, or, in Scotland, a curator bonis or judicial factor is appointed for him on the ground that he suffers from mental disorder, or, in Northern Ireland, a committee, receiver or guardian is appointed in his case under the [1871 c. 22.] Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871,

and a representative of his thereafter carries on his business.

(2) The conditions referred to in section 69(1)(c) of this Act are that the name and address of the representative, and the name of the pharmacist whose representative he is, have been notified to the registrar and that, at all premises at which the business is carried on and medicinal products, other than medicinal products on a general sale list, are sold by retail.—

(a) the business, so far as concerns the retail sale at those premises of medicinal products (whether they are medicinal products on a general sale list or not) or the supply at those premises of such products in circumstances corresponding to retail sale, is under the personal control of a pharmacist, and

(b) his name and certificate of registration are conspicuously exhibited.

(3) The period referred to in section 69(1)(c) of this Act—

(a) in the case of the death of a pharmacist, is a period of five years from the date of his death ;

(b) in the case of the bankruptcy or sequestration of the estate of a pharmacist, is a period of three years from the date on which he is adjudged bankrupt or the date of the award of sequestration, as the case may be ;

(c) in the case of a composition or scheme or deed of arrangement, or of a trust deed or composition contract, is a period of three years from the date on which the trustee appointed thereunder becomes entitled to carry on the business ; and

(d) in a case falling within subsection (1)(c) of this section, is a period of three years from the date of the appointment of the receiver, curator bonis, judicial factor, committee or guardian,

or, in any such case, is such longer period as, on the application of the representative, the Statutory Committee, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, may direct.

(4) In this section " representative "—

(a) in relation to a pharmacist who has died, means his executor or administrator and, in respect of a period of three months from the date of his death, if he has died leaving no executor who is entitled and willing to carry on the business, includes any person beneficially interested in his estate;

(b) in a case falling within paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, means the trustee in bankruptcy or the trustee in the sequestration or any trustee appointed under the composition scheme, deed of arrangement, trust deed or composition contract; and

(c) in a case falling within paragraph (c) of that subsection, means the receiver, curator bonis, judicial factor, committee or guardian.

73 Power to extend or modify conditions

(1) The Health Ministers may by order add to, revoke or vary any of the provisions of sections 70 to 72 of this Act, so as either—

(a) to modify, or provide new conditions in substitution for, the conditions referred to in any of the paragraphs of section 69(1) of this Act, or

(b) for the purposes of any of those paragraphs, to provide alternative conditions compliance with which is to have the like effect as compliance with the conditions referred to in that paragraph.

(2) Any provision made by an order in accordance with subsection (1) of this section may be made either generally or in relation to any particular circumstances specified in the order.

(3) Any order made under this section may direct that subsection (1) or subsection (2) of section 69 of this Act shall have effect subject to such exceptions or modifications as appear to the Health Ministers to be necessary or expedient in consequence of the provision made by the order in accordance with subsection (1) of this section.

(4) Where an order under this section is for the time being in force, any reference to section 69 of this Act in any other enactment as amended by this Act shall be construed as a reference to that section as modified by the order.

(5) No order shall be made under this section unless a draft of the order has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.