Clause 25 - Control of pharmacy premises: individuals and partnerships
Health Bill
3:30 pm
Jane Kennedy (Minister of State, Department of Health; Liverpool, Wavertree, Labour)
I appreciate the way in which the hon. Gentleman moved the amendment. The Medicines Act 1968 does not require a pharmacist to supervise the sale of general sale list medicines. The public can buy those medicines in several retail outlets, such as newsagents, garage shops and supermarkets—we all know them—without the need for a pharmacist to be present on the premises. However, the lack of clarity about the personal control requirements in the Act has led to the common interpretation that pharmacists exercise control over the pharmacy business only when they are physically present in the pharmacy. That has led to the view that the exercise of personal control over the pharmacy requires the pharmacist to be present when general sale list medicines are sold. Thus, an anomaly has been created. Someone may buy a general sale list medicine from a local corner shop, but if he visits a pharmacy, and the pharmacist is not present, he must go elsewhere to make the purchase. That is nonsense.
The Bill replaces the personal control requirement with a requirement that each pharmacy should have a responsible pharmacist in charge of the pharmacy business in so far as it relates to all medicines, including those on the general sale list. The responsible pharmacist will not be required to be on the premises at all times, and it will be for the pharmacist to decide whether the pharmacy will sell general sale list medicines when he or she is not physically present. We assume that most responsible pharmacists will decide that their pharmacies can do so.
As a result of the changes in the Bill, the present anomaly will disappear, so the hon. Gentleman’s amendment is not necessary. I hope that that addresses his concerns in tabling the amendment. The Bill places pharmacies on a more equal footing with other outlets selling general sale list medicines.