The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026
Introduced mandatory three-year enhanced DBS checks for pharmacy staff and restricted pharmacists from dispensing prescriptions issued by their own employees.
These Regulations amend the 2013 framework governing pharmaceutical services in England to introduce new clinical governance standards and operational requirements for NHS pharmacists and Local Pharmaceutical Service (LPS) contractors.
The instrument restricts pharmacists from dispensing items prescribed by themselves or their employees unless specific 'best interests' criteria are met and forbids changing a patient's nominated dispensing contractor without explicit consent.
It also mandates three-yearly enhanced DBS checks for all professional staff and establishes a formal notification process for pharmacies to temporarily close for staff training without breaching their core opening hours obligations.
Arguments For
The order states that limiting independent prescribing by pharmacy-employed staff ensures clinical appropriateness and value for money through best interests assessments.
Proponents argue the new framework for learning and development closures reduces service disruption by requiring 30 days' notice and prohibiting closures during peak morning, evening, or weekend hours.
The document asserts that requiring enhanced DBS checks for all professional staff and locums every three years strengthens clinical governance and patient safety.
The explanatory note states that removing the requirement for applicants to disclose their sex in pharmaceutical list applications streamlines the application process.
Arguments Against
Legal scholars may question the ambiguity of 'best interests assessments' and whether pharmacy owners can objectively evaluate value for money when prescribing for their own business.
Pharmacy contractors might argue that the 30-day notice period for learning and development closures is overly restrictive for urgent staff training needs.
Affected parties may raise concerns that the prohibition on changing a patient's preferred dispensing contractor without 'explicit consent' lacks a defined mechanism for verification, potentially leading to disputes between pharmacies.
Smaller pharmacy providers may find the administrative burden of tracking three-year DBS renewal cycles for all locums to be disproportionately high compared to larger chains.
Citation, commencement, extent and application
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026. (2) Subject to paragraph (3), these Regulations come into force on 1st October 2026. (3) Regulations 10(4) and 11(3) come into force on 1st January 2027. (4) These Regulations extend to England and Wales and apply in relation to England only.
This section establishes the official name of the regulations and sets the dates they take legal effect.
Most provisions begin on 1 October 2026, while specific requirements for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for staff begin on 1 January 2027.
The rules apply exclusively to pharmaceutical services within England.
Amendment to regulation 31
3.—(1) Regulation 31 (refusal: same or adjacent premises) is amended as follows. (2) In paragraph (1), after 'consolidated application' insert 'or a change of ownership application pursuant to regulation 26(1)'.
This amendment modifies the rules regarding the refusal of applications for premises located on the same or adjacent sites as existing pharmacies.
It exempts applications involving a simple change of ownership without relocation from the mandatory refusal criteria that normally apply to new or consolidated premises.
New regulation 66A
6 After regulation 66 (conditions relating to providing directed services), insert—
' Conditions relating to independent prescribing
66A.-. —(1) It is a condition of the inclusion of each NHS pharmacist in a pharmaceutical list that the NHS pharmacist must not provide a drug or appliance that is ordered on a prescription form by a prescriber who is or who is employed or engaged by the NHS pharmacist, except as provided for by this regulation. (2) An NHS pharmacist may provide a drug or appliance that is ordered on a prescription form by a prescriber who is or who is employed or engaged by the NHS pharmacist where— (a) the drug or appliance is provided as part of a directed service; (b) the terms on which the arrangements are made for the provision of the directed service allow for the provision, by the NHS pharmacist, of a drug or appliance ordered on a prescription form by a prescriber who is or who is employed or engaged by the NHS pharmacist; and (c) any conditions that are part of those arrangements and that relate to the ordering on a prescription form of a drug or appliance by a prescriber who is or who is employed or engaged by the NHS pharmacist, or to the provision of a drug or appliance in accordance with a prescription of such a prescriber, are met. (3) An NHS pharmacist may, as part of an essential service, provide a drug or appliance that is ordered on a prescription form by a prescriber (P) who is or who is employed or engaged by the NHS pharmacist only if— (a) the NHS pharmacist is also the provider of a directed service as part of which P is entitled to order drugs or appliances on a prescription form; (b) the NHS pharmacist has in place standard operating procedures that relate to prescribing and dispensing drugs or appliances on the same pharmacy premises and to carrying out best interests assessments prior to prescribing at those premises; (c) the order by P replaces an order by a prescriber who is or who is employed or engaged by a provider of primary medical services and it replaces that order with the agreement of the provider of primary medical services (the agreement may relate to the replacement of a specific order or to replacement of a pre-arranged category of orders, where the specific order is within that category); (d) the order by P is on an electronic prescription form and is for a prescription only medicine, the ordering of which is not restricted under the Prescription of Drugs Regulations; (e) before placing the order, P carries out a best interests assessment, and the placing of the order is in accordance with that best interests assessment. (4) For the purposes of paragraph (3), a best interests assessment is an assessment that an order for a drug or appliance is— (a) clinically appropriate and in the best interests of the patient for whom the drug or appliance is ordered; (b) consistent with best practice within the health service with regard to obtaining value for money for the health service; and (c) in all other respects professionally appropriate. (5) No pharmaceutical remuneration is payable in respect of the provision of a drug or appliance that is ordered on a prescription form by a prescriber who is or who is employed or engaged by the NHS pharmacist who claims the pharmaceutical remuneration, where such provision is, in the opinion of NHS England, otherwise than as provided for by this regulation.'
This regulation prohibits pharmacies from dispensing prescriptions written by the pharmacy owner or their employees, unless specific conditions are met.
Exceptions apply for directed services or when the pharmacist has standard operating procedures and performs a 'best interests assessment' regarding clinical appropriateness and value for money.
NHS England is authorized to withhold payment for any dispensing that violates these requirements.
Closure for learning and development
23B.-. —(1) For the purposes of this Part, for up to four hours in each calendar month, pharmacy premises are treated as open at times when they are closed for learning and development, provided the following conditions are met in respect of the closure— (a) the NHS pharmacist (P) listed in respect of the pharmacy premises has notified NHS England of the closure for learning and development, as a proposed closure, at least 30 days in advance of the closure; (b) NHS England has not objected to the closure (as to the valid grounds for objection, see sub-paragraph (2)); (c) no part of the period of closure is— (i) within three hours of the start of the pharmacy premises opening hours on the first week-day of opening, (ii) within three hours of the end of the pharmacy premises opening hours on the last week-day of opening, (iii) on a Saturday, (iv) on a Sunday, or (v) in the case of pharmacy premises in respect of which a 100 hours condition applies or has ever applied, from 5pm to 9pm on any week-day of opening; (d) in advance of the closure, P has notified the providers of primary medical services that are accustomed to sending patients to the pharmacy premises for the dispensing of emergency prescriptions, or for treatment as part of a directed service, of the closure; (e) in advance of the closure, P amended the pharmacy profile in respect of the pharmacy premises in the NHS England directory of services and on the NHS.uk website so that it shows the day and times of the closure; (f) unless the premises of P are distance selling premises, P has exhibited a notice, where practicable legible from outside the premises, which specifies the days on which and times at which the premises are closed for learning and development; (g) if P's premises are distance selling premises, any website that P has for use by the public for the purposes of accessing pharmaceutical services from the premises, on which the opening hours of the premises are displayed, has as part of that display a notice containing the same information as provided for in paragraph (f). (2) NHS England may object to a closure for learning and development if the closure, taken with other closures for learning and development and any gaps in availability of pharmaceutical services in the area in which the pharmacy premises are located, would lead to avoidable disruption to the provision of pharmaceutical services in that area.
This section allows pharmacies to close for staff training for up to four hours per month while still being legally considered 'open' regarding their contract.
To qualify, pharmacies must provide 30 days' notice, update their online profiles, and avoid closures during peak times or weekends.
NHS England retains the right to block these closures if they would cause significant service disruption in the local area.
Amendments to Schedule 4 [and Schedule 7 regarding DBS]
(4) In paragraph 28 (clinical governance and the promotion of healthy living), in sub-paragraph (2)(e), after sub-paragraph (i) insert— '(ia) arrangements for ensuring that all professional staff and locums who are involved in the provision of pharmaceutical services have either a valid certificate for an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check (certificates are to be treated as valid for three years from the date of issue by the DBS) or evidence to demonstrate that an enhanced DBS status check has been undertaken using the DBS Update Service,'
These provisions require both standard pharmacists and Local Pharmaceutical Service contractors to ensure all professional staff and temporary locums have a valid enhanced DBS check.
Certificates are defined as valid for three years, or staff may use the DBS Update Service for ongoing verification.
This requirement becomes a mandatory part of the terms of service for NHS pharmacy providers.
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