Fitness to Practise

The National Health Service (Miscellaneous Amendments Relating to Community Pharmaceutical Services and Optometrist Prescribing) Regulations 2009

These regulations introduce new requirements for bodies corporate that appoint new directors or a superintendent pharmacist. From 17 September 2009, on the appointment of the new director or superintendent pharmacist, the body coroporate must notify the PCT of the director or superintendent pharmacist's fitness to practise particulars and where the person is a pharmacist, provide the details of two referees. The PCT must be notified within 28 days of the appointment. A template form (FtP3) has been prepared by PSNC for this purpose, and can be downloaded in Microsoft e-form format below (note: the use of this form is not mandatory).

Fitness to Practise notification form (Form FtP3) (MS Word e-form)

The regulations also require any body corporate that has appointed a new director or superintendent pharmacist before 17 September 2009, and who is still in post and has not been the subject of notification of the new particulars to the PCT, to notify the PCT before 17 March 2010. A template form (FtP4) has been prepared by PSNC for this purpose, and can be downloaded in Microsoft e-form format below (note: the use of this form is not mandatory).

Fitness to Practise notification form (Form FtP4) (MS Word e-form) NOTE: where applicable - to be sent to the PCT before 17 March 2010

New applications to PCTs

When an application is made for inclusion in a PCT’s pharmaceutical list, the application must be accompanied by a Fitness to Practise declaration, unless the applicant is already on that PCT’s pharmaceutical list.

If you are not already on the pharmaceutical list of the PCT where the application is made:

Any person making an application who is not already on any PCT’s pharmaceutical list who requires advice on submitting Fitness to Practise information, should seek legal advice.
An applicant who is on the pharmaceutical list of a different PCT can either submit an up to date Fitness to Practise declaration, or, if the applicant is a body corporate that has already submitted Fitness to Practise information to its own Home PCT (i.e. the PCT where the company’s registered office is located), can inform the PCT to which the application is being sent of the identity of the Home PCT, and confirm whether the Fitness to Practise information held by the Home PCT is up to date.

Updating PCTs

All pharmacy contractors who are the subject of new adverse fitness to practise incidents must notify their PCTs within 7 days of the occurence.

Some Primary Care Trusts may have produced templates for their contractors to use, but to assist other contractors PSNC has produced an ‘e-form' template, which can be completed in Microsoft Word by clicking the link below:

Fitness to Practise Update Template (Form FtP2) (MS Word e-form)

The Fitness to Practise forms, whether the one produced by PSNC or by PCTs, are themselves not mandatory.

The duty to provide updated information about Fitness to Practise matters for pharmacists on pharmaceutical lists are dealt with under paragraphs 30 and 31 of the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005.

All of the information that would be provided by a contractor using the PSNC Form FtP2 is either that required by the PCT, as outlined in the Regulations, or is considered to be appropriate information to provide to the PCT in order to serve as identifying information (e.g. Superintendent Pharmacist RPSGB registration number).

Guidance has been issued by the Department of Health to Primary Care Trusts and this is accessible by clicking the link below:

The NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005 - DH Fitness to Practise Guidance for PCTs

Despite the length and complexity of the template, its completion will pose no difficulty for the majority of contractors. But, if any queries do arise, that cannot be answered by either referring to the Department of Health guidance, or the Frequently Asked Questions in the New Contract section of the PSNC website, then please email Steve Lutener. Queries of general interest will be added to the FAQs.

Supplementary Lists

The Department of Health held a series of learning exchange events in the early part of 2006, to inform Primary Care Trusts and others of the proposals to introduce supplementary lists for pharmacists who assist in the provision of pharmaceutical services. The regulations were anticipated at that stage to come into force on 1^st April 2006.

Update

The Minister of State, Department of Health, Andrew Burnham MP announced on 10 May 2006 that the Department is to defer the introduction of NHS supplementary list provisions for community pharmacists, pending the outcome of the current consultation on reforming the regulation of the pharmacy profession and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's role; and so that further consideration can be given to the report on non-medical regulation, produced by Andrew Foster.

The PSNC will ensure that further announcements are published on this website, as and when further decisions are made.

FAQs

1. I am a contractor and have been told by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society that I am being investigated following receipt of a serious allegation. Do I need to notify my PCT?
The fitness to practise provisions in Paragraph 30 of the Terms of service require contractors to notify their PCT or PCTs within 7 days of an adverse fitness to practise incident. A contractor who is under investigation by a regulatory body into his professional conduct must be reported. The FtP2 form above may be useful as a template.

2. I am a contractor and my PCT has sent an FtP1 form to be completed - do I have to fill it in?
The FtP1 forms were designed for the first fitness to practise declarations, which existing contractors had to send to their PCTs by October 2005, so it is unlikely that this is the correct document to use. After checking with the PCT, please contact Steve Lutener at PSNC.

Support on Fitness to Practise

Pharmacy contractors can obtain support on this issue by contacting PSNC's Aylesbury Office