These Regulations approve the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (Continuing Professional Development) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 (“the Regulations”). The Regulations were made by the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (“the Council”) under the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 (“the Order”). The Regulations set out matters relating to non-compliance by registered persons with the requirements or conditions of the continuing professional development framework adopted by the Council under Article 4A(6)(a) of the Order. The framework relates to standards of proficiency for the safe and effective practice of pharmacy that are set by the Council under Article 4A(1)(a) of the Order.

Regulation 2 sets out the circumstances in which a registered person is to be regarded as having failed to comply with the requirements or conditions of the framework or as having made a false declaration as to compliance. The steps which the registrar can take on being satisfied that a registered person has failed to comply, or has made a false declaration, are set out in regulation 3.

One of the steps available to the registrar is to require a registered person to take remedial measures and regulation 4 contains further provision about such measures and notifying the registered person about them.

The other steps set out in regulation 3 are to remove an entry, or annotation, in respect of a registered person from the register. The procedure for such cases is set out in regulations 5 to 8. Under regulation 5, the registrar must determine whether to refer the matter to the Council’s Scrutiny Committee or Statutory Committee if there are reasonable grounds to consider that the registered person’s fitness to practise is called into question. If not, the registrar serves a notice to inform the registered person of the proposal to remove the entry or annotation from the register. Regulation 5(5) sets out the information that must be provided in the notice. The registrar then determines the matter in accordance with regulations 6 and 7. Regulations 6, 7 and 8 include provision about the circumstances in which a hearing is held and about notifying the registered person of the determination made in the registered person’s case.

Regulation 9 sets out where the registrar may suspend a registered person’s entry in the register and regulations 10 and 11 outline the procedure for the restoration of a registered person’s name to the register and the restoration of an annotation to be recorded against a registered person’s name in the register.