The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2012

Pharmacy opening hours: general

23.—(1) An NHS pharmacist (P) must ensure that pharmaceutical services are provided at P’s pharmacy premises—

(a) for 40 hours each week;

(b) for not less than 100 hours each week, in the case of premises in respect of which a 100 hours condition applies;

(c) if a Primary Care Trust, or on appeal the Secretary of State, has directed that pharmaceutical services are to be provided at the premises for fewer than 40 hours per week, provided that the person listed in relation to them provides those services at set times and on set days, at the times and on the days so set;

(d) if a Primary Care Trust, or on appeal the Secretary of State, has (under previous Regulations) directed that pharmaceutical services are to be provided at the premises for more than 40 hours per week, and at set times and on set days, at the times and on the days so set; or

(e) if a Primary Care Trust, or on appeal the Secretary of State, has directed that pharmaceutical services are to be provided at the premises for more than 40 hours each week, but only on set times and on set days as regards the additional opening hours—

(i) for the total number of hours each week required by virtue of that direction, and

(ii) as regards the additional opening hours for which the person listed in relation to the premises is required to provide pharmaceutical services by virtue of that direction, at the days on which and times at which that person is required to provide pharmaceutical services during those additional opening hours, as set out in that direction,

but a Primary Care Trust may, in appropriate circumstances, agree a temporary suspension of services for a set period, where it has received 3 months notice of the proposed suspension.

(2) The hours during which pharmacy premises must be open by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) are referred to in these Regulations as “core opening hours”.

(3) P must notify the Primary Care Trust of other hours during which P’s pharmacy premises are to be open, which are hours in addition to P’s core opening hours (and which are referred to in these Regulations as “supplementary opening hours”).

(4) Unless P is a distance selling chemist, at P’s pharmacy premises P must exhibit—

(a) a notice specifying the days on which and times at which the premises are open for the provision of drugs and appliances (including times at which P is providing pharmaceutical services during supplementary opening hours); and

(b) at times when the premises are not open, a notice based on information provided by the Primary Care Trust, where practicable legible from outside the premises, specifying—

(i) the addresses of other NHS pharmacists and the days on which and times at which drugs and appliances may be obtained from those addresses, and

(ii) the addresses of LPS chemists in the area, the type of local pharmaceutical services which those LPS chemists provide, and the days on which and times at which their premises are open.

(5) P must, on request, submit a return to the Primary Care Trust setting out—

(a) the days on which and times at which pharmaceutical services are provided at P’s pharmacy premises (including times at which P is providing pharmaceutical services during supplementary opening hours); and

(b) the pharmaceutical services which P ordinarily provides at those premises.

(6) Where P changes—

(a) the supplementary opening hours of P’s pharmacy premises; or

(b) the pharmaceutical services which P ordinarily provides at those premises,

P must supply the Primary Care Trust with a return informing it of the change.

(7) Where P has notified to a Primary Care Trust the days on which and times at which pharmaceutical services are to be provided at P’s pharmacy premises (for example, in a return under sub-paragraph (5) or (6) or in an application for inclusion in a pharmaceutical list)—

(a) P must ensure that pharmaceutical services are provided at the premises to which the notification relates on the days and at the times set out in the notification (unless the notification has been superseded by a return, or a further return, under sub-paragraph (6)); and

(b) P must not change—

(i) the days on which or the times at which pharmaceutical services are to be provided at those premises during core opening hours which are neither additional opening hours nor in total less than 40 (if those core opening hours are additional opening hours, or are in total less than 40, regulation 65(5) to (7) and paragraphs 25 and 26 apply),

(ii) the total number of any supplementary opening hours (regulation 65(5) to (7) and paragraphs 25 and 26 apply to changes to the total number of core opening hours),

(iii) the days on which or the times at which pharmaceutical services are to be provided at those premises during supplementary opening hours, or

(iv) the pharmaceutical services which P is ordinarily to provide at those premises,

for a period of at least 3 months after that notification was received by the Primary Care Trust, unless the Primary Care Trust agrees otherwise.

(8) Subject to sub-paragraph (9), where P is prevented by illness or other reasonable cause from complying with P’s obligations under sub-paragraph (1), P must, where practicable, make arrangements with one or more NHS pharmacists or LPS chemists whose premises are situated in the same area for the provision of pharmaceutical services or local pharmaceutical services during that time.

(9) P may only make an arrangement with an LPS chemist under sub-paragraph (8) where that LPS chemist provides local pharmaceutical services which are of a similar description as, and a similar extent to, the pharmaceutical services which P ordinarily provides.

(10) Where there is a temporary suspension in the provision of pharmaceutical services by P for a reason beyond the control of P, P is not in breach of sub-paragraphs (1) and (7), provided that—

(a) P notifies the Primary Care Trust of that suspension as soon as practical; and

(b) P uses all reasonable endeavours to resume provision of pharmaceutical services as soon as is practicable.

(11) Planned refurbishment of pharmacy premises is neither a “reasonable cause” for the purposes of sub-paragraph (8) nor a “reason beyond the control of P” for the purposes of sub-paragraph (10).

(12) For the purposes of calculating the number of hours that pharmacy premises are open during a week that includes Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday or a bank holiday, it is to be deemed that the pharmacy premises were open on that day at the times at which they would ordinarily have been open on that day of the week.

(13) For the purposes of this Part, “additional opening hours”, where they are required, are hours during which P is required to provide pharmaceutical services pursuant to sub-paragraph (1)(e) which are in addition to the hours during which P would be required to provide pharmaceutical services, if P were subject instead to the condition set out in sub-paragraph (1)(a).