The National Health Service (Local Pharmaceutical Services etc.) Regulations 2006

Dispensing

3.—(1) Subject to any provisions of an LPS scheme included pursuant to paragraph 2 and the following provisions of this Schedule, where—

(a) any person presents a non-electronic prescription form which contains—

(i) an order for a drug, not being a Scheduled drug, or for an appliance, not being a restricted availability appliance, signed by a prescriber,

(ii) an order for a drug specified in Schedule 2 to the Prescription of Drugs Regulations, signed by a prescriber and including the reference “SLS”, or

(iii) an order for restricted availability appliance, signed by a prescriber and including the reference “SLS”; or

(b) the contractor receives from the ETP service an electronic prescription form which contains an order of a kind specified in paragraph (a)(i) to (iii), and—

(i) any person requests the provision of a drug in accordance with that prescription, or

(ii) the contractor has previously arranged with the patient that it will dispense that prescription on receipt,

a contractor must, with reasonable promptness, provide the drugs so ordered, and such of the appliances so ordered as it supplies in the normal course of its business.

(2) Where an LPS scheme includes the provision of repeat dispensing services, subject to any provisions of the LPS scheme included pursuant to paragraph 2 and the following provisions of this Schedule—

(a) any person presents a non-electronic repeatable prescription which contains—

(i) an order for a drug, not being a Scheduled drug or a controlled drug within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971(1), other than a drug which is for the time being specified in Schedule 4 or 5 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001(2), signed by a repeatable prescriber,

(ii) an order for a drug specified in Schedule 2 to the Prescription of Drugs Regulations, not being a controlled drug within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, other than a drug which is for the time being specified in Schedule 4 or 5 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, signed by a repeatable prescriber and including the reference “SLS”,

(iii) an order for an appliance, not being a restricted availability appliance, signed by a repeatable prescriber, or

(iv) an order for a restricted availability appliance, signed by a repeatable prescriber, and including the reference “SLS”,

and also presents an associated batch issue; or

(b) the contractor receives from the ETP service an electronic repeatable prescription which contains an order of a kind specified in sub-paragraph (a)(i) to (iv) and—

(i) any person requests the provision of a drug or an appliance in accordance with that repeatable prescription, or

(ii) the contractor has previously arranged with the patient that it will dispense that repeatable prescription on receipt,

a contractor must, with reasonable promptness, provide the drugs so ordered, and such of the appliances so ordered as it supplies in the normal course of its business.

(3) A contractor must not provide under an electronic prescription form a controlled drug within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, other than a drug which is for the time being specified in Schedule 4 or 5 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.

(4) For the purposes of this paragraph, a non-electronic repeatable prescription for drugs or appliances must be taken to be presented even if the person who wishes to obtain the drug or appliance does not present that prescription, where—

(a) the contractor has that prescription in his possession; and

(b) that person presents, or the contractor has in its possession, an associated batch issue.

(5) Where a contractor has made arrangements, as part of an LPS scheme, with a Primary Care Trust for the provision of an Independent Prescribing Service, and a pharmacist independent prescriber is authorised or required both to prescribe and to dispense a drug or appliance to a person under those arrangements, the pharmacist independent prescriber shall—

(a) do so in accordance with paragraphs 5 and 7 (as applicable);

(b) in connection with doing so, act in accordance with paragraphs 8 and 9;

(c) record the order on a prescription form;

(d) provide the drug or appliance in a suitable container;

(e) only provide a drug specified in Schedule 2 to the Prescription of Drugs Regulations where the conditions specified in paragraph 42(2) of Schedule 6 to the GMS Contracts Regulations are satisfied; and

(f) only provide a restricted availability appliance if the patient is a person, or it is for a purpose, specified in the Drug Tariff,

but a contractor must not provide drugs or appliances ordered by a pharmacist independent prescriber under his LPS scheme unless it has made such arrangements.

(6) The contractor must only provide drugs and appliances ordered on a prescription form or a repeatable prescription, or by it or on its behalf by a pharmacist independent prescriber, in circumstances where the supervising pharmacist (whether or not he is the contractor) is not someone—

(a) who is suspended from a primary care list;

(b) who is subject to a national disqualification; or

(c) who—

(i) has been disqualified under section 46(3)(2)(b) of the Act (or under any corresponding provision in Scotland or Northern Ireland) from inclusion in the pharmaceutical list of a Primary Care Trust (or Local Health Board, Health Board or Health and Social Services Board), and

(ii) is the subject of a declaration under section 46(2)(c) of the Act (or any corresponding provision in Scotland or Northern Ireland) that he is not fit to be engaged in any capacity in the provision of pharmaceutical services.

(1)

1971 c. 38; see section 2(1) of that Act, which defines “controlled drug” for the purposes of that Act.

(2)

S.I. 2001/ 3998. Schedule 4 has been amended by S.I. 2003/1432.

(3)

Section 46 was repealed by the 2001 Act, Schedule 5, paragraph 5, and Schedule 6, Part 1.