Paragraph 23 Pharmacy opening hours: generalI1

An NHS pharmacist must ensure that pharmaceutical services are provided at each of the premises from which the NHS pharmacist has undertaken to provide pharmaceutical services—

but a Local Health Board may, in appropriate circumstances, agree a temporary suspension of pharmaceutical services for a set period, where it has received 3 months’ notice of the proposed suspension from the NHS pharmacist.

An NHS pharmacist must notify the Local Health Board in whose pharmaceutical list the NHS pharmacist is included of other hours during which the premises from which the NHS pharmacist has undertaken to provide pharmaceutical services will be open, which are hours in addition to those during which the pharmacy is obliged to open by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) (and which are referred to in these Regulations as “supplementary opening hours”).

At each of the premises from which an NHS pharmacist has undertaken to provide pharmaceutical services, the NHS pharmacist must exhibit—

An NHS pharmacist must, on request, submit a return to the Local Health Board on whose pharmaceutical list the NHS pharmacist is included setting out—

Where an NHS pharmacist changes—

the NHS pharmacist must supply the Local Health Board on whose pharmaceutical list the NHS pharmacist is included with a return informing it of the change F212 weeks before the change takes place.

Where an NHS pharmacist has submitted a return under sub-paragraph (4) or (5) in respect of any premises, or where the NHS pharmacist has set out in an application under these Regulations for inclusion in the pharmaceutical list the days on which and the times at which pharmaceutical services will be provided at the premises to which the application relates if the application is granted—

F4..., for a period of at least 3 months after that return or application was received by the Local Health Board F5without the written permission of the Local Health Board.

Paragraph 23(6)(b) does not apply where the changes amount to the inclusion of a rest break which is no longer than 1 hour (or a change to such a rest break)—

the inclusion or change to the rest break does not change the total number of the NHS pharmacist’s core hours set out in sub-paragraph (1) on any particular day, otherwise than as provided for, and in accordance with the procedures set out in, paragraphs 25 and 26.

Where an NHS pharmacist has submitted a return under sub-paragraph (2) in respect of any premises, the effect of which would be to increase the number of supplementary opening hours the premises is open without changing the periods the premises already opens, the requirements set out in F8sub-paragraph (6) do not apply.

Where an NHS pharmacist is prevented by illness or other reasonable cause from complying with their obligations under sub-paragraph (1), they must, where practicable, make arrangements with one or more other NHS pharmacists whose premises are situated in the neighbourhood for the provision of pharmaceutical services during that time.

Where there is a temporary suspension in the provision of pharmaceutical services for a reason beyond the control of the NHS pharmacist, the NHS pharmacist will not be in breach of sub-paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) provided that—

Planned refurbishment of a pharmacy is neither a “reasonable cause” for the purposes of sub-paragraph (7), nor a “reason beyond the control of the NHS pharmacist” for the purposes of sub-paragraph (8).

For the purposes of calculating the number of hours that a pharmacy is open during a week that includes Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday or a bank holiday, it must be deemed that the pharmacy was open on that day at the times at which it would ordinarily have been open on that day of the week.

In this Part—

• “additional hours” (“oriau ychwanegol”) for which an NHS pharmacist is to be required to provide pharmaceutical services are those hours during which the NHS pharmacist would not be providing pharmaceutical services, were the NHS pharmacist subject to the condition set out in sub-paragraph (1)(a) and not the condition set out in sub-paragraph (1)(d);

• “existing direction” (“cyfarwyddyd presennol”) means one that has been made in accordance with this Part or one that was in existence on the date that these Regulations come into force.