PHARMACY owners in NSW are being reminded of the importance of complying with their obligations after one owner landed an $8,500 fine for operating a pharmacy in an unapproved premises.
In a statement the Pharmacy Council of NSW reported it had prosecuted the owner of two pharmacies in the state after discovering the individual had been using a premises that had not been approved by the Council and "operating a pharmacy business in the absence of a pharmacist".
The owner pled guilty to both counts and was sentenced at the Downing Centre Local Court.
During the sentencing hearing, Magistrate Carolyn Huntsman, noted pharmacists are in positions of trust and provide services to vulnerable people, adding that financial interest holders should be aware of their obligations under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW).
Huntsman said that each time an offence of this nature occurs, patients' health and safety if put at risk, and made orders for convictions to be recorded on the owner's criminal record for both charges and issued a $8,500 fine.
"Pharmacists are the gatekeepers of pharmacy services and play a very specific and important role in the proper and appropriate supply of restricted substances from pharmacies," the Council's statement said.
"Pharmacists should be aware that under the National Law, unsatisfactory professional conduct includes failures to observe obligations relating to the operation of pharmacy businesses."
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