Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976

[F1Impairment of fitness to practiseN.I.

4.—(1) A person’s fitness to practise is to be regarded as “impaired” for the purposes of this Order only by reason of—

(a)misconduct;

(b)deficient professional performance (which includes competence);

(c)adverse physical or mental health which impairs their ability to practise safely and effectively or which otherwise impairs their ability to carry out the duties of a registered person in a safe and effective manner;

[F2(ca)the person not having the necessary knowledge of English;]

(d)a conviction in the British Islands for a criminal offence;

(e)a conviction elsewhere than in the British Islands for an offence which, if committed in Northern Ireland, would constitute a criminal offence;

(f)having agreed to pay a penalty under section 109A of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 (penalty as alternative to prosecution);

(g)a police caution in the British Islands;

(h)having agreed to be bound over to keep the peace by a magistrates’ court in Northern Ireland;

(i)a determination made by a regulatory body in the United Kingdom responsible under any statutory provision for the regulation of a health or social care profession to the effect that the person’s fitness to practise as a member of a profession regulated by that body is impaired, or a determination by a regulatory body elsewhere to the same effect;

(j)the Independent Safeguarding Authority including the person in a barred list (within the meaning of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 or the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007; or

(k)the Scottish Ministers including the person in the children’s list or the adults’ list (within the meaning of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.

(2) The demonstration towards a patient or customer, or a prospective patient or customer, by a registered person of attitudes or behaviour from which that person can reasonably expect to be protected may be treated as misconduct for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a).

(3) References in this paragraph to a conviction include a conviction by court martial.

(4) A person’s fitness to practise may be regarded as impaired because of matters arising—

(a)outside Northern Ireland; and

(b)at any time.

(5) The Council may make such provision in regulations as it considers appropriate in connection with the information to be provided to the registrar by a registered person about fitness to practise matters that arise while their name is entered in any register kept under this Order.

(6) If a registered person fails to comply with regulations under sub-paragraph (5) the failure may be treated as misconduct for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(a) and the registrar must consider in accordance with paragraph 5(1) whether or not to refer the matter to the Scrutiny Committee or (where regulations under paragraph 5(1) so provide) the Statutory Committee.]