Title and coming into force

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Wales) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025.

(2) This regulation and regulation 3 come into force on 31 March 2025.

(3) Regulation 2 comes into force at 12:01 a.m. on 1 April 2025.

Amendments to the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Wales) Regulations 2020

2.—(1) The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Wales) Regulations 2020( 2) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2(1) (Interpretation)—

(a) in the definition of “Electronic prescription form”, in paragraph (b), for “ETP” substitute “electronic prescription”,

(b) omit the definition of “ETP service”,

(c) in the appropriate place, insert—

““ Prescription only medicine ” (“ meddyginiaeth a roddir ar bresgripsiwn yn unig ”) means a medicine referred to in regulation 5(3) (classification of medicinal products) of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012; ”, and

(d) in the definition of “Repeatable prescription”, in paragraph (a)(ii), for “ETP” substitute “electronic prescription”.

(3) In Schedule 5—

(a) in Part 2, in the heading to paragraph 5A( 3) before “listed”, in each place it occurs, insert “ophthalmic”,

(b) in Part 2, in paragraph 5A—

(i) for “a listed”, in each place it occurs, substitute “an ophthalmic listed”;

(ii) in sub paragraph (3)(a), for “paragraph” substitute “sub-paragraph”; and

(iii) in sub-paragraph (5), for “paragraph” substitute “sub-paragraph”;

(c) in Part 2, in paragraph 9( 4), in sub-paragraph (8C)(b), omit “directly”;

(d) in Part 2, for paragraph 20(4)( 5) substitute—

“(4)  The NHS pharmacist must, in appropriate cases, keep and maintain a record of any advice given and any interventions or referrals made (in particular of clinically significant interventions) under this paragraph. ”;

(e) in Part 3, in paragraph 23(6B)( 6), for “paragraph” substitute “sub-paragraph”.

Amendments to the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

3.—(1) The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024( 7) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2(2), for “2” substitute “2(1)”.

(3) In regulation 3—

(a) in paragraph (2), for “a listed”, in each place it occurs, substitute “an ophthalmic listed”, and

(b) in paragraph (14)(a), for “(6)(c)” substitute “(6A)”.

(4) In the Schedule—

(a) in paragraph 2, in the definition of “qualifying optometrist” for “Ophthalmic Combined List” substitute “combined list”, and

(b) in paragraph 3, in the inserted regulation 4A(1) for “will” substitute “must”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend two sets of Regulations which make provision about, and in connection with, pharmaceutical services.

Regulation 2 amends the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Wales) Regulations 2020 and regulation 3 amends the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.