The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (General Medical Services) and (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Amendment Regulations 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make amendments to certain other National Health Service Regulations to establish schemes for repeat dispensing, which involve doctors issuing, and chemists dispensing in accordance with, repeatable prescriptions.

The Regulations apply to certain areas of England only. Those Primary Care Trust areas which are covered are specified in amendments to the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1992 (“the Pharmaceutical Regulations”) and the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992 (“the Medical Regulations”) (see regulations 10 and 15 of these Regulations).

Part I of the Regulations amends the Pharmaceutical Regulations. The main changes are as follows:

• regulation 2 inserts definitions into regulation 2 of the Pharmaceutical Regulations;

• regulation 6 adds regulation 16B to the Pharmaceutical Regulations, specifying those chemists who are eligible to provide repeat dispensing services, and how they should notify the Primary Care Trust that they wish to do so; and

• regulation 9 amends Schedule 2 to the Pharmaceutical Regulations (chemists' terms of service), and makes provision regarding the dispensing of repeatable prescriptions. In particular, it inserts paragraph 3A into that Schedule which makes specific provision for the dispensing of such prescriptions (regulation 9(4)), for example concerning the endorsement and storage of such prescriptions by chemists and the circumstances in which chemists must or may refuse to dispense such a prescription.

Regulations 4, 5 and 8 of these Regulations make further minor amendments to the Pharmaceutical Regulations, unconnected with repeat dispensing schemes.

Part II of the Regulations amends the Medical Regulations. The main changes are as follows:

• regulation 11 inserts definitions into regulation 2 of the Medical Regulations;

• regulation 13 inserts regulation 33A into the Medical Regulations, specifying those doctors who are eligible to issue repeatable prescriptions, and how they should notify the Primary Care Trust that they wish to do so;

• regulation 14 amends Schedule 2 to the Medical Regulations (doctors' terms of service) to provide for the issuing of repeatable prescriptions, and in particular inserts paragraph 43A into that Schedule, which makes specific provision in connection with such prescriptions (regulation 14(7)); and

• regulation 15 inserts Schedule 6B into the Medical Regulations, specifying the format of the repeatable prescription and batch issue forms that must be issued in connection with repeat dispensing.

Part III of the Regulations amends the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 2000 (“the Charges Regulations”). The main changes are as follows:

• regulation 18 inserts definitions into regulation 2 of the Charges Regulations, and also amends regulation 2 to ensure that where more than one container of drugs, or more than one appliance (subject to specified exceptions) is provided in reliance on one batch issue, only one charge is payable; and

• regulation 19 amends regulation 3 of the Charges Regulations, to clarify that the specified charges are payable on each batch issue, requiring a person paying such a charge to sign a declaration that the charge has been paid, and specifying that the exemptions, remissions, requirement for the charge to be paid and requirement to issue a receipt, which apply to all other charges under the Charges Regulations, also apply to charges for repeat dispensing services.