A law change that in the future will allow pharmacy technicians to supply medicines through patient group directions (PFDs) came into effect yesterday (June 26). 

The amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 have come into force, with the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) hailing this as a “landmark moment for primary care” that will ensure pharmacy technicians are able to safely expand access to pharmacy services in a pressured healthcare landscape”.  

The change to the law – which applies across Great Britain – does not mean pharmacy technicians can currently deliver PGDs, as the NHS service specifications for the services it commissions from pharmacies have not yet been updated. 

“Any updates to services first need to be considered in negotiations and, where agreed, the relevant PGDs and specifications would then be amended,” Community Pharmacy England advised, with the same applying in Wales and Scotland. Pharmacy technicians in Northern Ireland are not yet regulated and so for now will not be able to deliver PGDs.  

APTUK president Nicola Stockmann told pharmacy technicians: “Our professional potential has been recognised and our time is now.”

Ms Stockmann said pharmacy technicians’ skills had been underutilised during the Covid-19 pandemic in “frontline pharmacy services” like vaccination and argued that the amendment – which she said follows years of lobbying – has “ensured that this will not happen again”.  

APTUK has published educational resources to help its members navigate the new scope of their practice, she added.

The government’s decision to allow pharmacy technicians to use PGDs has been controversial in some quarters, with the Pharmacists’ Defence Association positioning itself as a notable opponent.  

Commenting today on the amended regulations coming into effect, the PDA said that as there have not yet been any changes to NHS service specifications it would be “premature to offer specific operational advice” to its members. 

However, it argued that “with few exceptions” the delivery of a PGD “requires there to be a clinical assessment of the patient” to check for concerns such as possible co-morbidities, and said that “unlike a dispensing process, a PGD cannot be broken down and delivered in small distinct pieces”.  

The PDA said it plans to issue a further update “once the NHS service specifications is agreed and becomes available”.