National Health Service Act 1977

[F1 42 Regulations as to pharmaceutical services. E+W+S

(1) Regulations shall provide for securing that arrangements made by a Family Practitioner Committee under section 41 above will enable persons in the Committee’s locality for whom drugs, medicines or appliances mentioned in that section are ordered as there mentioned to receive them from persons with whom such arrangements have been made.

(2) The regulations shall include provision—

(a) for the preparation and publication by a Committee of one or more lists of persons, other than medical practitioners and dental practitioners, who undertake to provide pharmaceutical services from premises in the Committee’s locality;

(b) that an application to a Committee for inclusion in such a list shall be made in the prescribed manner and shall state—

(i) the services which the applicant will undertake to provide and, if they consist of or include the supply of appliances, which appliances he will undertake to supply; and

(ii) the premises from which he will undertake to provide those services;

(c) that, except in prescribed cases—

(i) an application for inclusion in such a list by a person not already included; and

(ii) an application by a person already included in such a list for inclusion also in respect of services or premises other than those already listed in relation to him,

shall be granted only if the Committee is satisfied, in accordance with the regulations, that it is necessary or desirable to grant it in order to secure in the neighbourhood in which the premises are located the adequate provision by persons included in the list of the services, or some of the services, specified in the application; and

(d) for the removal of an entry in respect of premises from a list if it has been determined in the prescribed manner that the person to whom the entry relates—

(i) has never provided from those premises; or

(ii) has ceased to provide from them, the services, or any of the services, which he is listed as undertaken to provide from them.

(3) The regulations may include provision—

(a) that an application to a Committee may be granted in respect of some only of the services specified in it;

(b) that an application to a Committee relating to services of a prescribed description shall be granted only if it appears to the Committee that the applicant has satisfied such conditions with regard to the provision of those services as may be prescribed;

[F2 (ba) that an application to a Committee by a person who qualified to have his name registered under the Pharmacy Act 1954 by virtue of section 4A of that Act (qualification by European diploma) shall not be granted unless the applicant satisfies the Committee that he has the knowledge of English which, in the interests of himself and persons making use of the services to which the application relates, is necessary for the provision of pharmaceutical services in the Committee’s locality.]

(c) that the inclusion of a person in a list in pursuance of such an application may be for a fixed period;

(d) that, where the premises from which an application states that the applicant will undertake to provide services are in an area of a prescribed description, the applicant shall not be included in the list unless his inclusion is approved by [F3 reference to prescribed criteria by the Family Health Services Authority in whose locality those premises are situated; and]

(e) that [F4 that Family Health Services Authority] may give its approval subject to conditions.

(4) The regulations shall include provision conferring on such persons as may be prescribed rights of appeal from decisions made by virtue of this section.

(5) The regulations shall be so framed as to preclude—

(a) a person included in a list published under subsection (2)(a) above ;and (b) an employee of such a person; from taking part in the decision whether an application such as is mentioned in subsection (2)(c) above should be granted or an appeal against such a decision brought by virtue of subsection (4) above should be allowed.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 42 substituted by National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1986 (c. 66, SIF 113:2), s. 3

F2 S. 42(3)(ba) inserted by S.I. 1987/2202, art. 4

F3 Words substituted by National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19, SIF 113:2), s. 12(3)(a)

F4 Words substituted by National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19, SIF 113:2), s. 12(3)(b)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 42 extended by Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49, SIF 113:2), s. 17(1)