Out of Hours Service
The Out of Hours Service was developed as part of the Board’s responsibilities under Regulation 11 of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (as amended).
The service allows patients to have appropriately endorsed prescriptions dispensed outwith normal pharmacy opening hours and is managed by the Out of Hours Service.
How does the service work in practice?
When NHS24 or the Out of Hours Service identifies that a patient needs dispensing services outwith normal pharmacy opening hours, they will access a list of Community Pharmacists who have volunteered to participate in the service.
Stickers
Paragraph 6 (2) of the Terms of Service for Pharmacists requires that ‘at every premises from which pharmaceutical services are provided there shall be exhibited…at such premises, at times when those premises are not open, and in such a manner as to be visible at such times, a notice in a form approved by the Board, indicating the facilities available for securing the dispensing of medicines urgently required.’
To facilitate this requirement, the Health Board provides every community pharmacy with two stickers. One of which can be face fixed to a glass surface. The second sticker is designed to be affixed to any security shutter which may be in place once the pharmacy is closed. We appreciate that where premises are fitted with roller shutters, these stickers, through time, will become unsightly and may fall off. With this in mind, replacement copies of the stickers can be obtained by contacting ggc.cpdevteam@nhs.scot .
Out of Hours Change of Pharmacist