Clients Charter
The Council's Responsibility
The Council can be expected to:
Uphold the Pharmacy Laws of the land firmly and fairly.
Be accountable for duties it executes under the Pharmacy Laws.
Display professionalism at all times.
Be impartial, honest and fair when dealing with any matter within the Council’s scope and powers.
Provide reliable information in a timely manner and give sound advice when required.
Ensure that all stakeholders as regulated by the Pharmacy Laws are not acting in contravention of the Law.
Ensure that pharmacists are practising according to the Pharmacy Laws.
Ensure that pharmacies are not operated in an insanitary condition and in a state of disrepair.
Client’s Responsibilities
The public can be expected to :
Hold the Council accountable in fulfilling its regulatory functions as prescribed by law.
Insist that the Council addresses issues referred to it, promptly and fairly.
Insist that the Council treats the public professionally and respectfully.
Notify the Council about irregularities observed in the practice of pharmacy and the operation of shops registered and/or regulated under the Pharmacy Laws.
Refrain from accessing and utilizing services at a pharmacy, unless a current Certificate of Registration of the pharmacist, the shop and owner of the shop are displayed.
Ensure that medication dispensed to them is carried out by the registered pharmacist, or by another person immediately under the supervision of the said pharmacist to allow for the protection of their health and well-being.
Standards Of Service
Complaints System
Complaints may be submitted verbally but must be confirmed in writing prior to action being taken.
Complaints should be acknowledged in writing within seven (7) working days of receipt. Very urgent complaints should be acknowledged verbally, then in writing, within two working days.
The Clients’ Complaint Mechanism provides details regarding the resolution of complaints.
Establishment of Pharmacies
Applications for consultation for the establishment of pharmacies, will be acknowledged within ten (10) working days, at which point clients will be informed of the date of same.
Approvals, conditional approvals, deferrals and rejection of proposals will be conveyed to the applicant within seven (7) working days, of the Council’s monthly meetings.
Letters indicating inspections of approved sites should be conducted within ten (10) working days, after notification of readiness by the applicant.
The procedure manual for the establishment of pharmacies provides guidance to the Council and clients.
Clients should expect the standards of service outlined below :
General
Telephones should be answered within three (3) rings
Clients on business at the Council, should not wait for unnecessarily long periods
Information and services should be provided in a timely manner to clients.
Registration
The Council shall keep Registers of pharmacists, pharmaceutical students, pharmacies and owners of pharmacies, volunteer pharmacists, and authorized sellers of poisons.
Applications for registration should be processed in a timely manner and if approved, certificates should be prepared within twenty-one (21) days.
Renewal of registration is effected on an annual basis
Inspections
Routine inspections of pharmacies are conducted island-wide to ensure that the health and well-being of the public is protected.
Pharmacists who are not eligible to practise and that who failed inspections are reprimanded and if necessary are brought before the Disciplinary Committee.
Foreign Trained Pharmacist Qualifying Examination (FTPQE)
Further to an application to sit the FTPQE, each applicant will be informed in writing of the decision within thirty (30) working days.
Candidates will be informed of the examination results in writing within forty-five (45) working days.
Notices
A copy of the Register of Pharmacists shall be published in the Gazette at such times as may be prescribed.
The Council shall as soon as practicable cause the following notices to be published in the Gazette:
- Names of council members.
- Names of the members of the registration appeal tribunal.
- Names of pharmacists.
- The council shall publish in the Gazette a notice containing categories of drugs. These categories are referred to as as lists.
Internship
The Pharmacy Act of 1966 (Regulations 1975) mandates that there is a twelve (12) month vocational training of pharmacy interns under the Internship Programme prior to their registration as a pharmacist in Jamaica.
This supervised training must take place in a setting previously approved by the Pharmacy Council and under the supervision of a trained pharmacist referred to as a Preceptor.
Accreditation of CE Seminars
Providers of Continuing Education (CE) seminars must apply for accreditation at least one month prior to the event and two (2) weeks prior to the meeting of the sub-committee granting pre– approval of the activity.
Providers will be informed of approval for accreditation of a Continuing Education (CE) seminar within five (5) working days following the next scheduled meeting of the Council’s sub committee.
Following the evaluation of a seminar, the Council will review and determine the credit value of the seminar. Providers will be informed of such value within seven (7) working days following a decision by the sub-committee.
Reclassification of drugs
Applications for reclassification of drugs will be acknowledged within seven (7) working days, at which time, notice of justification for the reclassification will be requested.
The Council will provide a decision on the submission within a further seven (7) working days, after the next scheduled sub-committee meeting.