The National Health Service (Amendments Relating to the Provision of Primary Care Services During a Pandemic etc.) Regulations 2020

Amendment of Schedule 4

9.—(1) Schedule 4 (terms of service of NHS pharmacists) is amended as follows.

(2) After paragraph 22 (service outline in respect of supporting self-care) insert—

“Home delivery service while a disease is or in anticipation of a disease being imminently pandemic etc.

22A.— (1) Before dispensing any item on a prescription form or supplying it in accordance with a serious shortage protocol, an NHS pharmacist (P) must provide a home delivery option to eligible patients in respect of the item where, as a consequence of a disease being or in anticipation of a disease being imminently—

(a) pandemic; and

(b) a serious risk or potentially a serious risk to human health,

the NHSCB with the agreement of the Secretary of State has made an announcement to the effect that, in order to assist in the management of the serious risk or potentially serious risk to human health, eligible patients are advised to stay away from pharmacy premises in the area specified, in the circumstances specified and for the duration of the period specified in the announcement.

(2) If P’s pharmacy premises are in the area specified in the announcement, during the period when, in the circumstances specified in the announcement, eligible patients need to stay away from P’s pharmacy, P must ascertain from—

(a) an eligible patient—

(i) who has contacted P about the home delivery of prescription items, or

(ii) who is a person whom P considered, on the basis of the nature of an item on a prescription form, might be an eligible person and accordingly, in the ordinary exercise of professional skill and judgement, made the appropriate checks and determined that they were; or

(b) a person who may make an application for pharmaceutical services on behalf of that eligible patient (a “duly authorised person”) who has contacted P about the home delivery of prescription items,

whether or not the item could be supplied by a duly authorised person, and if it could, then supplying the item via a duly authorised person is the home delivery option which P must provide.

(3) Where paragraph (2) does not apply, if P’s pharmacy premises are in the area specified in the announcement, during the period when, in the circumstances specified in the announcement, eligible patients need to stay away from P’s pharmacy, the home delivery option that P must provide must comprise—

(a) P delivering the item to the eligible patient’s home or to an alternative address agreed with the patient or a duly authorised person (for example, a care home where the patient is temporarily residing);

(b) P arranging for an item dispensed by P to be delivered by another NHS pharmacist or by an LPS contractor to the eligible patient’s home or to an alternative address agreed with the patient or a duly authorised person; or

(c) if P is unable to deliver the item or arrange for its delivery by another NHS pharmacist or by an LPS contractor, P arranging for the dispensing or supply of the item by another NHS pharmacist or by an LPS contractor who would be able to deliver the dispensed item to the eligible patient’s home or to an alternative address agreed with the patient or a duly authorised person.

(4) Paragraph (1) does not apply where the eligible patient or a duly authorised person is already at P’s pharmacy premises for the purposes of receiving dispensing services.

(5) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Part, in any case of a supply in accordance with a home delivery option, if but for this sub-paragraph that supply would need to be made with reasonable promptness, P may instead, in the exercise of professional skill and judgment, make the supply within a reasonable timescale.

(6) Where arrangements are in place which enable an NHS pharmacist to make a delivery as mentioned in sub-paragraph (3)(a) or (b) as part of a directed service, the NHS pharmacist must deliver the item as part of that directed service.

(7) This paragraph does not apply to an NHS pharmacist in respect of distance selling premises.”.

(3) After paragraph 27 (temporary opening hours and closures during an emergency requiring the flexible provision of pharmaceutical services) insert—

“Pharmacy opening hours: arrangements while a disease is or in anticipation of a disease being imminently pandemic etc.

27A.— (1) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Part, the core or supplementary opening hours of an NHS pharmacist (P) may be changed by the NHSCB where, as a consequence of a disease being, or in anticipation of a disease being imminently—

(a) pandemic; and

(b) a serious risk or potentially a serious risk to human health,

the NHSCB with the agreement of the Secretary of State has made an announcement to the effect that, in order to assist in the management of the serious risk or potentially serious risk to human health, the NHSCB may, in the area to which the announcement relates and in the circumstances specified in the announcement, notify NHS pharmacists of changes to core and supplementary opening hours for the period specified in the announcement.

(2) Where paragraph (1) applies, where the NHSCB notifies P of changes to P’s core or supplementary hours at P’s pharmacy premises, those are P’s core and supplementary opening hours for the period that the NHSCB specifies in the notification (unless the NHSCB notifies P of further changes to P’s opening hours).”.