The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has released updated guidance for all registrants concerning their obligations to declare cautions, convictions, disciplinary matters, or health issues that may affect their fitness to practise. The new guidance, published on September 17, 2025, aims to clarify legal and professional expectations and enhance patient safety.
Under the new policy, all pharmacists must familiarise themselves promptly with the requirements. The core expectations include:
- Declaring any caution, conviction or disciplinary sanction if it may impact their ability to practise safely.
- Disclosing health concerns that could affect performance. This applies whether the concern is long term, intermittent or temporary but is reasonably likely to interfere with professional duties.
- Making these declarations in a timely fashion so PSNI can assess risk to patients, the public, or the profession.
PSNI stresses its legal and ethical duty to ensure that every registrant is fit to practise safely and effectively. The aim is not punitive but protective, to maintain public trust and safeguard patient welfare.
All registrants are strongly urged to review the full guidance, available both on the PSNI website and as a downloadable PDF.
Pharmacies and individual practitioners should consider reviewing internal policies to ensure declarations are handled correctly and promptly.
With evolving professional standards and increasing public scrutiny, adherence to these new guidelines is essential. Non-declaration or delayed declaration could have serious consequences for individual registrants and their ability to retain registration or practise without restriction.