Regulation of Health and Social Care Professionals Consultation

Northern Ireland. 17 The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
has responsibility for inspection and enforcement. This role is assumed by the
Medicines Inspection and Investigation Team within the Department. The
Department also has powers to appoint inspectors for the purposes of the
Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976. The inspectors have powers to enter at
all reasonable times any registered pharmacy and undertake any examinations
and inquiries and do such other things as may be necessary for ascertaining
whether the Order is being complied with. It is an offence to wilfully delay or
obstruct the Pharmacy Inspector, or fail to give any information. 18
Provisional view
11.18 As a minimum, our reforms would consolidate the existing position whereby the
General Pharmaceutical Council would continue to have responsibility for the
setting of standards for owners and superintendents carrying on retail pharmacy
business at a registered pharmacy as well as a range of powers in relation to
inspection and enforcement. Due to the nature of the legal powers involved –
which place requirements on other bodies and are enforceable through the
criminal justice system – much of this would continue to be specified in the
statute itself. In addition, the current regulatory powers given to the
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland would be maintained.
11.19 We welcome views on whether additional reforms are needed. For example, the
regulators could be given powers to disclose any sanction or fine issued against
a business to the shareholders. This might encourage the shareholders to hold
the board to account, rather than relying entirely on action against a named
individual, such as a superintendent, who may not be at fault directly.
Furthermore, powers might be needed to establish a business fitness to practise
regime similar to that of the General Optical Council (see below). This would
allow the regulators to investigate allegations against those who are responsible
for businesses that have failed to meet established standards and failed to
comply with improvement notices, with a view to deciding if their fitness to carry
on a business is impaired.
Provisional Proposal 11-2: The statute should retain the existing premises
regulation regimes of both the General Pharmaceutical Council and the
Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland.
Question 11-3: Are any further reforms needed to the premises regulation
regimes of the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Pharmaceutical
Society of Northern Ireland?
REGISTER OF BODIES CORPORATE
11.20 A small number of the regulators are given more limited powers to regulate
businesses compared to those given to the General Pharmaceutical Council. For
example, the General Optical Council is required to maintain a register of bodies
corporate carrying on a business in the UK as an optometrist and/or a dispensing
optician. In general terms, a business can register if it satisfies the Council that it
17 Medicines (Pharmacies) (Responsible Pharmacist) Regulations 2008, SI 2008 No 2789.
18 Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976, SI 1976 No 1213, art 24.
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