The Pharmaceutical Services and Charges for Drugs and Appliances (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and the Charges for Drugs and Appliances Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 to establish a scheme for repeat dispensing, which involves doctors issuing, and chemists dispensing in accordance with, repeatable prescriptions.

Regulation 2 inserts definitions into regulation 2 of the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations.

Regulation 3 adds regulation 4A to the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations, specifying those chemists who are eligible to provide repeat dispensing services and how they should notify the Board that they wish to do so.

Regulation 13 amends Schedule 2 to the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations (chemists' terms of service), and makes provision regarding the dispensing of repeat prescriptions. In particular, it inserts paragraph 2A into that Schedule which makes specific provision for the dispensing of such prescriptions (regulation 13(5)), for example concerning the endorsement and storage of such prescriptions by chemists and the circumstances in which chemists must or may refuse to dispense such a prescription.

Regulations 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 of these regulations make further minor amendments to the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations unconnected with repeat dispensing.

Regulation 14 inserts definitions into regulation 2 of the Charges Regulations, and also amends regulation 2 to ensure that where more than one container of drugs, or more than one appliance (subject to specified exceptions) is provided in reliance on one batch issue, only one charge is payable.

Regulation 15 amends regulation 3 of the Charges Regulations, to clarify that the specified charges are payable on each batch issue, requiring a person paying such a charge to sign a declaration that the charge has been paid, and specifying that the exemptions, remissions, requirement for the charge to be paid and requirement to issue a receipt, which apply to all other charges under the Charges Regulations, also apply to charges for repeat dispensing services.