Pharmacies

The Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 deals with the regulation of pharmacy. The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland is established with the objectives of advancing chemistry and pharmacy. The Board of Pharmaceutical Education maintains the honour, safeguards, and promotes the interests of the members of the Society in the exercise of their profession.

The Council is to consist of 23 members, of which 18 are elected by the members of the Society, two are nominated by Queen’s University, one is nominated by recognized bodies in respect of the medical profession, one is nominated to represent the wholesale drug trade, and one is an associate elected as a representative of registered druggists, if any.

The President and Vice-President of the Council are to be elected annually, and the members of the Council are elected by the members of the Society. Representatives of pharmaceutical chemists hold office for three years.

The Council may direct and manage the business and affairs of the Society and make regulations in relation to its own procedures, examinations, qualifications, conditions in relation to character, physical and mental health, qualifications of persons, and conditions on which persons who are members of pharmaceutical societies from outside Northern Ireland may be registered under the legislation. This includes conditions regarding courses of practical training and annotation of the register of pharmaceutical chemists.

The Society is required to maintain registers of pharmaceutical chemists, druggists, and students.

The Council is responsible for prescribing and conducting examinations, and arrangements may be made with universities and other institutions of further education in respect of examinations.

Persons holding the prescribed qualifications and satisfying conditions as to character, physical and mental health, and other matters as may be prescribed may be entered on the register, subject to the payment of prescribed fees.

Other persons who can satisfy the Council as to their competence to practice and who are members of pharmaceutical societies outside Northern Ireland may be admitted and registered.

There is provision for the recognition of qualifications, with European qualifications being scheduled and recognized as equivalent.

A registrar is to be appointed by the Society, and the registrar maintains the above registers.

The registrar may inquire into matters relevant to registration and continued entitlement to be registered, and may serve a notice on the occupier of premises where a retail pharmacy is being carried on, requiring information and statements of persons managing the premises. Failure to comply is an offence.

Copies of the registers are to be sent to the pharmacy inspector and the poisons inspector, and the registers are to be published annually in alphabetical order.

The legislation also includes provisions for disciplinary proceedings.

The statutory committee is to consist of six members, one of whom shall be a person having practical legal experience appointed by the Head of the Department, and five appointed by the Council.

A person who is registered and has been convicted of a criminal offence or of misconduct, which in the opinion of the statutory committee renders them unfit to be on the register, may have their name struck off the register by direction of the committee, following an inquiry into the matter.

The committee may, if it thinks fit, either of its own motion or on the application of the person concerned, direct that a person be restored to the register or may direct that they should not be re-registered or restored.

A person aggrieved by a decision of the committee may apply within three months to the High Court, which may uphold, modify, or annul the decision of the statutory committee in relation to the misconduct or other matter.

Where acts or omissions are those of an employee or owner of the business, the committee may only exercise their disciplinary functions. If they are satisfied that the owner of the business ought to be regarded as responsible for the act or omission, taking into account relevant facts, the committee may have regard to whether the act is a continuing act and may conclude that the owner of the business must have or ought reasonably to have known of it.

A person must not be appointed to the office of a chemist, compounder, or dispenser in any institution maintained from public funds unless they are a registered pharmaceutical chemist or a registered person, as per Section 55 of the Medical Act 1982.

The Department may appoint one or more pharmaceutical inspectors, who are responsible for discharging functions conferred by the legislation. In particular, they have a role in supervising certain activities of the Council and may investigate, inquire, and, for such purposes, enter premises of a registered pharmacy. Obstruction or non-compliance is considered an offence.