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Changes to QCPP Standards from
1 July 2004
As advised in the April edition of this newsletter and a letter which
was sent to all members at the end of March this year, there are important
changes to two Standards, namely STO- 5, Pharmacy Stock and MTP- 5 Control
of Access which came into effect on 1 July 2004.
STO-5 Pharmacy Stock - now mandatory
This is the first retail Standard to become mandatory and states that
pharmacies must not stock or sell tobacco products and/or alcoholic
beverages
Apart from the obvious situation that a stand alone pharmacy which is selling tobacco products and/or alcoholic beverages will breach this requirement, there may be a number of other less clear situations where the pharmacy itself does not breach the requirement, but the boundary between the pharmacy and another business that sells tobacco products and/or alcoholic beverages is such that the pharmacy will be deemed to breach the requirements.
These circumstances will arise where, having entered a pharmacy, a customer has direct access to another business that sells tobacco products and/or alcoholic beverages without walking out of the pharmacy and back into a common public area. In order for such a pharmacy to gain or maintain its accreditation, the Standards committee has identified that if all of the following situations are present, the requirements are considered to have been met:
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There must be independent access from the common public area to each business entity
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Inside the businesses, at least 50% of the common boundary between the businesses must be a floor-to-ceiling wall
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The remaining 50% of the boundary can be open, allowing for cross access by customers of both businesses, but this area must be capable of being closed and locked so that there is no access from one business to the other (lockable roll down shutter doors is one example of partition)
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The businesses must have separate tills and separate staff, and stock from one business cannot be sold by employees of the second business
If all of the above are not in place, then the pharmacy will not be recommended for accreditation.
Also, because The Guild views that pharmacists must not compromise
their professional role by selling harmful products, it has been decided
that if the QCP Division becomes aware of any pharmacies which are in
breach of the Standard from 1 July 2004, a letter will be sent to them
advising them that their QCPP accreditation is in jeopardy. The accredited
pharmacy will be given the usual remedial action time of 90 days to
rectify the situation otherwise their accreditation will be withdrawn.
MTP-5 Control of Access
This Standard is a common non-mandatory Pharmacy Standard which is assessed
at every assessment and requires an 80% pass mark. The Standard requires
that the Pharmacist-in-Charge has access to the pharmacy 24 hours a
day and seven days a week to meet the day-to-day and emergency needs
of their customers.
Contact
QCPP
Help
HELP
LINE: 1300 363 340
Level 3, National Circuit Barton ACT 2600
PO Box 7036 Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610 Australia
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