The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Wales) Regulations 2020

Additional requirements in relation to specified appliances E+W

11.—(1) This paragraph sets out the additional requirements referred to in paragraph 10(1)(o) relating to the provision of specified appliances.

(2) An NHS appliance contractor who dispenses specified appliances in the normal course of business must provide a home delivery service in respect of those appliances and, as part of that service—

(a) the NHS appliance contractor must offer to deliver the specified appliance to the patient’s home,

(b) if the patient accepts that offer, the delivery must be made with reasonable promptness and at such time as is agreed with the patient,

(c) the specified appliance must be delivered in a package which displays no writing or other markings which could indicate its content, and

(d) the manner of delivery of the package and any supplementary items required by sub-paragraph (3) must not convey the type of appliance being delivered.

(3) In any case where a specified appliance is provided (whether by home delivery or otherwise), the NHS appliance contractor must provide a reasonable supply of appropriate supplementary items (such as disposable wipes and disposal bags) and—

(a) must ensure that the patient may, if the patient wishes, consult a person to obtain expert clinical advice regarding the appliance, or

(b) if the NHS appliance contractor believes it is appropriate to do so, must—

(i) refer the patient to a prescriber, or

(ii) offer the patient an appliance use review service.

(4) If the NHS appliance contractor is unable to provide an appliance use review service in accordance with sub-paragraph (3)(b)(ii), they must give the patient the contact details of at least two people who are NHS pharmacists or NHS appliance contractors who are able to arrange for the service to be provided, if these details are known to the NHS appliance contractor.

(5) Where an NHS appliance contractor provides a telephone care line in respect of the dispensing of any specified appliance, they must ensure that during out of hours periods—

(a) advice is made available to patients through that telephone care line, or

(b) the telephone number of NHS Direct Wales, or the website address of NHS Direct Wales, are made available to patients through the telephone care line.

(6) For the purposes of this paragraph—

“expert clinical advice” (“cyngor clinigol arbenigol”), in relation to a specified appliance, means advice which is given by a person who is suitably trained and who has relevant experience in respect of the appliance;

“out of hours periods” (“cyfnodau y tu allan i oriau”), in relation to each of the premises from which an NHS appliance contractor has undertaken to provide pharmaceutical services, means the periods outside the periods during which the NHS appliance contractor is obliged to provide pharmaceutical services by virtue of paragraph 13.

Commencement Information

I1 Sch. 6 para. 11 in force at 1.10.2020, see reg. 1(2)(b)