This Order of Council provides for the commencement of the Pharmacy (Preparation and Dispensing Errors – Hospital and Other Pharmacy Services) Order 2022 in so far as it is not yet in force.

The commenced provisions extend the defences inserted into the Medicines Act 1968 (c. 67) by the Pharmacy (Preparation and Dispensing Errors – Registered Pharmacies) Order 2018 (S.I. 2018/181). These defences relate to offences of contravening the following provisions of that Act: section 63, which relates to the adulteration of medicinal products; and section 64, which relates to the sale or supply in pursuance of a prescription of medicinal products that are not of the nature or quality demanded.

The new modifications to the defences relate to preparation and dispensing errors by registered pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians, or persons supervised by them, in the course of the provision of hospital and other specified pharmacy services. Pharmacy technicians are not statutorily registered in Northern Ireland, and so, as regards Northern Ireland, the modifications only relate to preparation errors and dispensing errors by registered pharmacists and persons supervised by them.

In order for reliance to be placed on the modified defences, the pharmacy service must have a chief pharmacist. The commenced provisions also amend provisions in the Pharmacy Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/231) and the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 (S.I. 1976/1213 (N.I. 22)) so as to enable the relevant regulators (the General Pharmaceutical Council as regards Great Britain and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland as regards Northern Ireland) to describe the responsibilities of chief pharmacists and to set standards of performance and conduct in relation to them.