The Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Naloxone and Transfers of Functions) Regulations 2024

New regulation 237A

7.  After regulation 237 (products consisting of or containing pseudoephedrine salts or ephedrine base or salts) insert—

“Appropriate suppliers of naloxone products

237A.— (1) Regulations 214(1) and 220 do not apply to the supply of a naloxone product by an individual who is an appropriate supplier of naloxone products, if it is for an appropriate purpose.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the following are appropriate suppliers of naloxone products—

(a) a person employed or engaged in the provision of drug treatment services provided by or on behalf of, or under arrangements with, one of the following—

(i) an NHS body,

(ii) a local authority,

(iii) the Secretary of State, or

(iv) the Public Health Agency;

(b) a person employed or engaged in the provision of services as part of the medical services of His Majesty’s forces;

(c) a person employed or engaged by, or by an entity commissioned to provide drug treatment services by or on behalf of, one of the bodies listed below, if the listed body is satisfied that the person has undergone appropriate training in the storage and supply of naloxone products—

(i) a police force in England, Wales or Scotland,

(ii) the Police Service of Northern Ireland,

(iii) a prison service,

(iv) a provider of probation services, or

(v) a provider of youth justice services;

(d) a person who is one of the following—

(i) a pharmacist,

(ii) in England, Wales or Scotland, a registered pharmacy technician,

(iii) a registered nurse,

(iv) a registered midwife, or

(v) a registered paramedic,

if that person has undergone appropriate training in the storage and supply of naloxone products; and

(e) a person employed or engaged by a local naloxone provider, if that local naloxone provider is satisfied that the person has undergone appropriate training in the storage and supply of naloxone products.

(3) For the purposes of this regulation, a local naloxone provider is an entity that has valid arrangements in place (“local naloxone arrangements”) with a naloxone supply network co-ordinator for the supply of naloxone products for an appropriate purpose.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation, a naloxone supply network co-ordinator is an entity that has valid arrangements in place (“network creation arrangements”) with an appropriate national body as part of which the naloxone supply network co-ordinator creates and maintains a network of local naloxone providers that are willing to supply naloxone products for an appropriate purpose.

(5) For—

(a) local naloxone arrangements to be valid, a naloxone supply network co-ordinator must ensure that any putative local naloxone arrangements that it has contain arrangements that ensure; and

(b) network creation arrangements to be valid, the appropriate national body must ensure that any putative network creation arrangements that it has contain arrangements that ensure,

the outcomes listed in paragraph (6).

(6) Those outcomes are—

(a) that only persons who are employed or engaged by the putative local naloxone provider and who have undergone appropriate training in the storage and supply of naloxone products are able to supply them under the putative local naloxone arrangements;

(b) that any requirements that the appropriate national body has in respect of training in the storage and supply of naloxone products which are relevant to supply in accordance with this regulation are included in the putative local naloxone arrangements, and any such requirements are appropriate training for the purposes of paragraph (2)(e) (but see paragraph (8));

(c) that a record is kept by the putative local naloxone provider of all the persons employed or engaged by them who are able to supply naloxone products under the putative local naloxone arrangements, and of their relevant training;

(d) that the putative local naloxone provider has a named individual responsible at all times for—

(i) the storage, any handling relating to storage and any handling relating to supply of naloxone products by or on behalf of the putative local naloxone provider under their putative local naloxone arrangements, and

(ii) the maintenance of appropriate records of those activities by the putative local naloxone provider;

(e) that any requirements that the appropriate national body has in respect of storage and any handling relating to supply of naloxone products by local naloxone providers, which arise out of or relate to supply in accordance with this regulation, are included in the putative local naloxone arrangements; and

(f) that any requirements that the appropriate national body has in respect of the processing of information by local naloxone providers, including in respect of—

(i) the records to be kept as part of local naloxone arrangements,

(ii) the information to be derived from those records, and

(iii) the provision of information to naloxone supply network co-ordinators, and the occasions on which and the frequency with which to do so,

which arise out of or relate to supply in accordance with this regulation, are included in the putative local naloxone arrangements.

(7) For network creation arrangements to be valid, the appropriate national body must also ensure that any putative network creation arrangements that it has contain arrangements that ensure the following outcomes—

(a) that any requirements that the appropriate national body has in respect of the processing of information by naloxone supply network co-ordinators, including in respect of—

(i) the records to be kept as part of the network creation arrangements,

(ii) the information to be derived from those records, and

(iii) the provision of information to the appropriate national body, and the occasions on which and the frequency with which to do so,

which arise out of or relate to supply in accordance with this regulation, are included in the putative network creation arrangements; and

(b) that any requirements that the appropriate national body has in respect of who may be a local naloxone provider, and how their status as such is recorded or advertised, are included in the putative network creation arrangements.

(8) In order for training in the storage and supply of naloxone products to be appropriate for the purposes of this regulation, its outcome must be that a person completing the training successfully (T) has the following competencies—

(a) understanding of the legal framework for supply in accordance with this regulation which is sufficient for the purposes of ensuring that T is able to administer naloxone products lawfully and where appropriate to supply them to another person for that other person to administer them lawfully, having been trained to do so by T;

(b) understanding of the safe storage and safe handling of naloxone products which is sufficient for the purposes of ensuring—

(i) that T is able to store and handle naloxone products safely and without compromising their efficacy, and

(ii) if T is to supply those products to another person for that other person to store and handle them, that the other person is able to store and handle them safely, and without compromising their efficacy, having been trained to do so by T; and

(c) understanding of how and when to administer naloxone products which is sufficient for the purposes of ensuring—

(i) that T is able to do so safely, effectively and when appropriate, and

(ii) if T is to supply those products to another person for that other person to administer them, that the other person is able to administer them safely, effectively and when appropriate, having been trained to do so by T,

and if the appropriate national body for where a supply takes place has determined that that is the outcome of particular training for a particular (or any) category of person, then for where that supply takes place that determination is conclusive evidence, or in Scotland sufficient evidence, that the training is appropriate training for that category of person.

(9) The following are appropriate purposes for the purposes of this regulation—

(a) the naloxone product is needed by the person to whom or for whom it is supplied for the purpose of saving life in an emergency;

(b) in the reasonable expectation of the appropriate supplier of naloxone, the supply of the naloxone product is to enable it to be kept at a place where a person resides or which they frequent, in circumstances where that person may need, at that place—

(i) to administer it to themselves in an emergency for the purposes of saving their own life, or

(ii) to administer it to another person, or to have it administered to them, in accordance with regulation 238; or

(c) in the reasonable expectation of the appropriate supplier of naloxone, the supply of the naloxone product is to enable it to be carried about by the person to or for whom it is supplied, that person being a person who may need it—

(i) to administer it to themselves in an emergency for the purposes of saving their own life, or

(ii) to administer it to another person, or to have it administered to them, in accordance with regulation 238.

(10) Where, pursuant to this regulation, an appropriate supplier of naloxone mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) to (d) supplies a naloxone product—

(a) that appropriate supplier of naloxone;

(b) a provider of drug treatment services, medical services or other health care services that employs or engages the appropriate supplier of naloxone, if it is the entity that supplied the supplier with the naloxone product; or

(c) a body listed in paragraph (2)(a) or (c), where that body provided or commissioned the drug treatment services or other health care services as part of which the appropriate supplier of naloxone supplied the naloxone product,

may provide an appropriate national body with any information about that supply, if that type of information, or information derived from that type of information, is information that a naloxone supply network co-ordinator would be required to supply to that body under network creation arrangements, it (or the information derived from it) being information included in requirements that the appropriate national body has as mentioned in paragraph (7)(a)(iii).

(11) For the purposes of section 8(c) of the Data Protection Act 2018 (lawfulness of processing: public interest etc)(1), provision of information in the circumstances described in paragraph (10) is to be considered necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

(12) For the purposes of this regulation, the following are appropriate national bodies—

(a) in England, the Secretary of State;

(b) in Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;

(c) in Wales, the Welsh Ministers or Public Health Wales;

(d) in Northern Ireland, the Public Health Agency or the Department of Health in Northern Ireland.

(13) For the purposes of this regulation and regulation 238, any use of a naloxone product that is indicated in a marketing authorisation for the product is to be treated as being for the purpose of saving life, even if the use is for, or partially for, diagnosis.”.

(1)

2018 c. 12; amended by S.I. 2019/419.