The LPC would like to reminder contractors of their duties with regards to disposal of unwanted medicines with particular regard to Environmental Agency T28 Exemptions.
It has been 3 years since pharmacies needed to apply for a T28 Exemption and as the certificate only lasts for 3 years It may be prudent to check your exemption and make sure you re-apply if need be. We understand that the environmental agency only send out one reminder out so could easily get missed. The PSNC have a very useful resource page which contains information to help make sure you are compliant with the Essential Service specification of Disposal of Unwanted Medicine as well as compliance with current legislation. There are also some useful FAQ's, resources and links to gov.uk and the environmental agencies for registration of your exemption. This page can be accessed by clicking here and is worth a review to ensure you are fully compliant.
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 Following yesterdays change in laws in Controlled drugs such as Tramadol. (Click Here for earlier emails)
We have been advised that some GP’s Practices are getting tramadol Rxs sent back where they were printed without the the quantity in words. This is apparently has occurred due to their computer not being updated in time. We would like to remind Pharmacists that under current CD regulations pharmacists can add the quantity in words if they are missing. For further clarification on this please see the excerpts from the MEP and the BNF below. BNF "A pharmacist is not allowed to dispense a Controlled Drug unless all the information required by law is given on the prescription. In the case of a prescription for a Controlled Drug in Schedule 2 or 3, a pharmacist can amend the prescription if it specifies the total quantity only in words or in figures or if it contains minor typographical errors, provided that such amendments are indelible and clearly attributable to the pharmacist. Failure to comply with the regulations concerning the writing of prescriptions will result in inconvenience to patients and delay in supplying the necessary medicine." MEP - CD Technical errors Where a prescription for a schedule 2 or 3 controlled drug contains a minor typographical error or spelling mistake, or where either the words or figures (but not both) of the total quantity has been omitted, a pharmacist can amend the prescription indelibly so that it becomes compliant with legislation. The pharmacist needs to have exercised due diligence, be satisfied that the prescription is genuine and that the supply is in accordance with the intention of the prescriber. The prescription should also be marked to show that the amendments are attributable to the pharmacist (e.g. name, date, signature and GPhC registration number). Pharmacists cannot correct other amendments or omissions (e.g. missing date, incorrect dose, form or strength). These should be corrected by the original prescriber or, in an emergency, another prescriber authorised to prescribe controlled drugs. Amendments cannot be made by covering letter from the prescriber.  An earlier LPC News article mentioned the changes to the Controlled Drug Regulations that will affect tramadol prescribing (click here for the article). Pharmacies need to check all patients who have Repeat Dispensing, with batches due after 10th June, as you will no longer be able to legally dispense Repeat Dispensing scripts after this date. Practices are in the process of reviewing patients to stop repeat dispensing for tramadol and switch to normal FP10s but may not manage to get replacement scripts to pharmacies. To prevent patients being unable to get their medication after the 10th June it is suggested that pharmacies check to see which patients will need replacement prescriptions and how many prescriptions will be needed to cover until the end of the rest of the repeat dispensing items. Check with your local practices to see how they want to manage requests for replacement tramadol prescriptions. Quantities will need to be written in words and figures (GP Practice Systems may not be upgraded in time for this to be automatically done – EMIS is currently updating but 100% of practices may not be updated by 10th June). However, pharmacists are reminded that they are able to add the quantity in words to CD prescriptions, and sign & endorse the prescription to that effect. A useful poster / flyer can be downloaded below. The PSNC have also produced a faq about CD's. This can be accessed here.
The LPC would like to remind contractors that the Home Office is changing the regulations for tramadol .
We understand that the changes will come in force on Tuesday 10th June: The new legislation can be viewed by clicking here. The main changes that are likely to affect pharmacy contractors will be the following however the LPC recommend that contractors read the legislation changes.
The biggest impact is likely to be the change for tramadol and it means that all prescriptions for tramadol will have to comply with CD Schedule 3 requirements from 10th June 2014. We have been asked to let pharmacies know about a generic email that has been set up to receive controlled drug incidents and destructions requests in our area.
Controlled drug incidents or concerns should be notified to the NHS England Accountable Officer for Controlled Drugs via the NECS Medicines Optimisation Team. Emma Post ([email protected]) will still be the contact for North of Tyne & South of Tyne areas. The new contact details for CD's are as follows. Emma Post Telephone: 0191 217 2983 Fax: 0191 217 2506 Email: [email protected] Examples of incidents that should be reported include: • Fraudulent / forged prescriptions • Lost / stolen prescriptions and /or medication • Controlled drug balance discrepancies • Dispensing errors involving controlled drugs A Resource page has been added to the Gateshead & South Tyneside LPC Website for you to download, print and use in the pharmacy. |
Copies of our older Paper Based News Letters (The LPC News) can be found by clicking below.
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