Independent Review of Medicines Homecare in Scotland: review report and recommendations
An independent review of Medicines Homecare in Scotland covering the supply of secondary care-initiated medicines and associated care to patients in the community, with recommendations on improvements to these services.
Regulation
The purpose of regulation is to protect patients from the risk of harm and to ensure the safety and quality of patient care. In Scotland (and the UK), there is no one regulator with overarching accountability and responsibility for the regulation of medicines homecare services (Figure 4). Each organisation involved looks at distinct aspects and has their unique responsibilities.
The Care Inspectorate regulates the small number of medicines homecare services that also function as a nurse agency service. As such the Care Inspectorate register and regulate only the nurse agency function of those homecare services.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) regulates medicines homecare companies providing pharmacy activities. More broadly, it is the regulatory agency responsible for pharmacy professionals in the UK.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency which regulates medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the UK to ensure that medicines and healthcare products available in the UK are safe and effective.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) is the final stage for complaints about the NHS in Scotland (and other public services) in line with powers and duties set out in the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002.
Contact
Email: PharmacyTeam@gov.scot