Explanatory note

These Regulations further amend the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997.

They contain measures enabling temporary emergency changes to the arrangements for the provision of pharmaceutical services in the event of an emergency arising out of a threat to human welfare which is caused or which may be caused by human illness (for example, pandemic influenza). In the case of such an emergency, arrangements are put in place to enable community pharmacies to relocate temporarily or take on additional premises and services (such as supplying domiciliary oxygen services) without needing to go through the normal applications process – and to enable doctors who provide pharmaceutical services to provide pharmaceutical services to patients who are not on their normal patient list. Community pharmacies included in a pharmaceutical list, whose opening hours are subject to detailed provisions in the Pharmaceutical Regulations, are given additional flexibilities to allow them to make emergency changes to their opening hours and to close premises, where it is reasonable to do so. Community pharmacies and doctors who provide pharmaceutical services will revert to their normal arrangements with the Regional Board after the emergency, unless these have been changed in the mean time via the normal applications process.