Pharmacy register aims to protect against 'rogue' traders

A NEW online register of every pharmacy in the State, which will allow the public to check the registration status of their local pharmacist, is available for the first time.

The register was launched by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) as part of several measures to protect the public against what they claim are rogue operators.

There are currently 1,682 registered pharmacies in the State, according to the PSI which took over the regulation of pharmacies last year under the Pharmacy Act.

From January 1st it has been a criminal offence not to register a pharmacy with the PSI. From April 1st all pharmacies must display a certificate of registration and certificates of supervising pharmacists.

In addition, every pharmacy must now name a superintendent and supervising pharmacists with at least three years’ post-registration experience.

According to PSI chief executive Dr Ambrose McLoughlin, the new regulatory system, which includes a statutory code of conduct for pharmacists to be brought in this year, will assure the public about the safety of individual pharmacies.

“Healthcare professionals need to be meeting the needs of patients and be open in communicating with patients about their treatment and care.

“This openness is also essential to building systems for reporting of adverse events, such as medication errors and, more importantly, learning from these incidents,” he said.

Dr McLoughlin said the report of the Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance, Building a Culture of Patient Safety, which was launched by the Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, was a “landmark” in advancing patient safety.

As a result of the report, the Government is drawing up legislation to license every public and private healthcare provider in the State.

The PSI and the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) have signed a memorandum of understanding about dealing with potential medical scandals involving pharmacies. To date, co-operation between the PSI and the IMB, which regulates medicines in the State, has only been on an informal basis.