The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013

Basic procedure in respect of unwanted drugs

14.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where a person presents to an NHS pharmacist (P) any drugs provided for a patient in, and which have been kept in—

(a) a private household; or

(b) a children’s home; or

(c) a residential care home, that is to say an establishment which exists wholly or mainly for the provision of residential accommodation, together with board and personal care, for persons in need of personal care because of—

(i) old age,

(ii) mental or physical disability,

(iii) past or present dependence on alcohol or drugs,

(iv) any past illnesses, or

(v) past or present mental disorder,

P must accept the drugs and dispose of them in accordance with sub-paragraph (3).

(2) P is not required to accept any drugs for disposal unless the NHSCB has made arrangements for the collection and disposal of drugs of that description.

(3) On receipt of the drugs, P must—

(a) where required to do so by the NHSCB or by a waste disposal contractor retained by the NHSCB, separate solid drugs or ampoules, liquids and aerosols from each other;

(b) store the drugs in containers provided by the NHSCB, or by a waste disposal contractor retained by the NHSCB, for the purpose of storing drugs of that description; and

(c) comply with any other statutory requirements in respect of storing or the disposal of drugs of that description (meeting those requirements are therefore an essential service for the purposes of these Regulations),

and shall co-operate with any suitable arrangements that the NHSCB has in place for regular collection of the drugs from P’s pharmacy premises by or on behalf of the NHSCB.