Allow trained pharmacy staff to hand out checked medication if pharmacist absent — 6 signatures. Status: rejected.
Reform medicines law so trained dispensers or registered technicians can hand out medication that has already been clinically checked, labelled and sealed when the pharmacist is absent. This will prevent missed doses, reduce patient harm and ease pressure on pharmacy staff.
Patients are regularly denied vital medication because current law forbids staff from handing out prescriptions if the pharmacist is absent, even when the medicine is already checked, labelled and ready. This leads to missed doses, withdrawal, worsening conditions and distress. Staff also face abuse and anxiety enforcing rules they did not create. Modernising the law would protect patients, support staff and reflect how pharmacies operate today.
View this petition on the official UK Parliament website