Inspection in a Greater Poland pharmacy. Pharmacist disappeared

• Article 92 of the Pharmaceutical Law states that a pharmacist must be present in the pharmacy during its opening hours.
• The regulations do not provide for any exceptions to this rule.
• Wielkopolska WIF issued decisions ordering the presence of a pharmacist even in cases where the absence was explained by sudden events

As the mgr. pharm portal writes, the Wielkopolska Province Pharmaceutical Inspector conducted an ad hoc inspection in one of the pharmacies at the end of January. The ad hoc inspection showed that there was no pharmacist in the pharmacy , and only a pharmacy technician performed professional activities. The owner of the pharmacy explained the absence of a pharmacist as "a consequence of the events that took place in the home of mgr pharm. (…), who was incapacitated by his own son without the possibility of contacting his employer ". Despite such unusual circumstances, the WIF considered it necessary to order the owner of the pharmacy to strictly comply with the requirement of art. 92 of the Pharmaceutical Law.

A similar situation occurred on April 23 this year, when the Wielkopolska Province Pharmaceutical Inspector issued another decision. Also this time, an ad hoc inspection showed that the pharmacy was open, but there was no Master of Pharmacy . The entrepreneur explained the absence of the pharmacist as "a temporary and individual circumstance, beyond the entrepreneur's control, dictated by an individual decision of the Master of Pharmacy (pharmacy manager), who was in close proximity, enabling immediate return to the pharmacy".

In both cases, the owners' explanations confirmed the absence of the pharmacist during the pharmacy's operating hours. WIF clearly emphasizes that Article 92 of the Pharmaceutical Law states that "during the pharmacy's operating hours, a pharmacist employed there or a pharmacist performing their duties in the pharmacy on another legal basis is present on its premises" . Moreover, these regulations do not provide for any exceptions to this principle, regardless of the reasons for the absence.

As a result, in both described situations, the WIF issued decisions ordering the owners of pharmacies to ensure the presence of a pharmacist during the pharmacy's opening hours. It should be remembered that if the irregularities are not removed within the specified time, the Wielkopolska Provincial Pharmaceutical Inspector may initiate administrative proceedings to withdraw the permit to run a publicly accessible pharmacy, in accordance with Article 103 paragraph 2 item 1 of the Pharmaceutical Law.

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