The Association of Pharmacy Technicians supports pharmacies operating in the absence of a pharmacist and wants pharmacy technicians to take on community pharmacist roles.
The Government has been pursuing a plan to allow pharmacy technicians to operate a pharmacy in the absence of a pharmacist for nearly a decade. Due largely to resistance from the profession, they have tried and failed to win the arguments and therefore have been unable to change the legislation.
Its efforts however are continuing and by using a government selected programme board they are seeking again to advance the threat of remote supervision.
In April, a meeting was held involving representatives of the government, the programme board and various pharmacy bodies including the PDA. This meeting considered what should be permitted to occur in the two hour absence of a pharmacist currently allowed by the regulations.
At this meeting, representatives from the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK argued that registered pharmacy technicians should be allowed to make the final accuracy check on dispensed items, hand out dispensed prescriptions, and sell P medicines in the absence of a pharmacist. They felt that this would allow the pharmacist to ‘pop out for half an hour’.
The PDA believes that this is a view that is also shared by the Company Chemists Association, as this would enable their members to operate their pharmacies in the absence of a pharmacist.
If the board agrees to their suggestions, all of this will occur whilst the absent pharmacist takes personal responsibility for anything that happens in their absence due to the implications of the Responsible Pharmacist regulations.
Additionally, The PDA is very concerned about the potential impact that such changes would have upon the safety of the public.
It is vital that the views of those who potentially stand to gain through the diminution of the pharmacist’s role in the pharmacy and also potentially the reduction of safety of patients are not the only views that are considered by the programme board.
To assist the Rebalancing programme board with their work, alongside the views provided by the Association of Pharmacy Technicians and the CCA, it is important that they also receive the views of front line employee and locum pharmacists.
Read more about the background to this survey
The survey has now closed, but the questions asked can be found here for reference: