Hansard

The Convener Lab

Item 4 on our agenda is another affirmative instrument. The instrument that we are now considering is the draft Pharmacy (Premises Standards, Information Obl...

Maureen Watt SNP

Thank you, convener. The statement on this instrument is slightly longer than the previous one. The Scottish Government and the health departments in the th...

Richard Lyle (Central Scotland) (SNP) SNP

I seek some clarification on pharmacy premises standards. We have stand-alone pharmacies, pharmacies that are joined to doctors’ surgeries, pharmacies within...

Maureen Watt SNP

I will ask Alpana Mair to answer that question.

Alpana Mair (Scottish Government)

The standards apply to registered pharmacy premises. In order for a pharmacy to be established it would still have to go through the normal procedures—the or...

Richard Lyle SNP

Will a pharmacy apply to be established within a locality under the same regulations as before?

Alpana Mair

Yes.

Richard Lyle SNP

Thank you.

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con) Con

I apologise if I missed this point, but does the order bring Scotland more into line with the rest of the UK and Northern Ireland? 09:45

Maureen Watt SNP

As I said in my opening remarks, we would like to see a more level playing field. That will not come in the near future, but we are working closely to ensure...

Nanette Milne Con

I just wondered what the situation is south of the border.

Alpana Mair

Draft pharmacy standards are in place across the four countries. The legislation will make the standards, which will apply across the four countries, enforce...

The Convener Lab

It was mentioned that there would be a consultation on any future proposals in this area. Who would carry out the consultation, how would Scottish pharmacy p...

Alpana Mair

There are two aspects to that. Are you referring to the pharmacy standards that are in place?

The Convener Lab

Yes.

Alpana Mair

The General Pharmaceutical Council—the GPhC—recently conducted a consultation, which was undertaken by an independent body. Community Pharmacy Scotland and o...

The Convener Lab

According to the committee’s notes, there were concerns about how any set of patient standards would be acted on or enforced. Would further consultation be w...

Alpana Mair

As I said, the consultation has taken place recently. The response to it was positively in favour of how the GPhC was progressing the changes that it had made.

The Convener Lab

There were concerns and a lack of clarity about how any breaches in the standards would be dealt with.

Alpana Mair

Concerns can be fed back to the GPhC. When the GPhC formerly sets its standards, the process is open to people feeding back to it.

Maureen Watt SNP

Any concerns would not be brought as breaches of premises standards; rather, they would be dealt with as a disciplinary matter under fitness-to-practise stan...

The Convener Lab

We have exhausted questions, so we move on to agenda item 5, which is the formal debate on the affirmative SSI on which we have just taken evidence. As is us...

The Convener Lab

We suspend to allow a changeover of witnesses. 09:48 Meeting suspended. 09:49 On resuming—