Clause 33 - Regulation of the profession of pharmacy

Part of NHS Reform and Health Care Professions Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 10:45 am on 13 December 2001.

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Photo of Oliver Heald Oliver Heald Shadow Spokesperson (Health) 10:45, 13 December 2001

One has been reading up on public health because of this afternoon's Westminster Hall debate. I noticed that the Government, in their response to the Select Committee report on public health, talked about a widening role for community pharmacists. The possibility has been mentioned to me of community pharmacists supervising a group of individuals who would go into the homes of people suffering from, say, Alzheimer's disease, to give advice, for example on ways of remembering or ordering medicines so that there would be more security that the medicines were being taken when they should be.

Would such a role require amendment of the law, and is that the sort of amendment that could usefully be undertaken under section 60? Or could that be done anyway, and that is not part of the Government's planning for the future of the community pharmacy profession?