The Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations contain measures relating to arrangements underpinning the safe management and use of controlled drugs in Northern Ireland.

Part 1 provides for preliminary matters.

Part 2 provides for accountable officers. A number of health care bodies are prescribed as designated bodies (regulation 3), and these are required to appoint accountable officers (regulation 4). There are limitations on who may act as accountable officers (regulation 5) and a duty on designated bodies to establish arrangements for their removal from office in specified circumstances (regulation 6). Designated bodies are required to ensure that their accountable officers are sufficiently resourced (regulation 7).

Accountable officers are given a number of functions relating to the safe management and use of controlled drugs. Essentially, these require the establishment by the accountable officer of a number of sets of arrangements which relate to the safe management and use of controlled drugs. As well as the basic arrangements (regulation 9), these include safe disposal arrangements (regulation 10) and the auditing arrangements (regulation 11). As well as being given functions in relation to their own designated bodies, accountable officers are given functions in relation to health care professionals and others whose work involves the management and use of controlled drugs, for which their designated body is responsible. These responsibilities include maintaining records of and investigating concerns (regulations 15 and 16), and taking appropriate action where there are well-founded concerns (regulation 17). The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety shall direct accountable officers to set up a local intelligence network, relating to the management and use of controlled drugs in Northern Ireland (regulation 18).

Part 3 provides for arrangements in relation to periodic inspections of premises used for the management and use of controlled drugs, where these issues would not be dealt with as part of other health and social care inspections, along with other measures in relation to powers of entry.

Part 4 provides for co-operation between a number of listed health care bodies and other organisations (regulation 22), and in particular contains detailed arrangements with regard to the disclosure of information between the bodies that are required, by the Regulations, to co-operate with each other in connection with the identification of cases where action may need to be taken against individuals (regulations 24 to 27). There are record keeping requirements (regulation 28), and duties with regard to occurrence reports, which are quarterly statements that accountable officers shall make about details of concerns that their designated body has (regulation 29). Accountable officers have duties to take action with regard to concerns that they have (regulation 30), and persons acting in good faith under the arrangements for sharing information under this Part are protected from damages claims (regulation 31).