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PSNI · Pharmacists registered in Northern Ireland

PSNI remediation courses for pharmacists in Northern Ireland

This page is for pharmacists registered with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland who are facing, or expect, a fitness to practise concern. It sets out how the PSNI’s Registrar, Scrutiny Committee and Statutory Committee deal with allegations, how remediation fits into each stage, and which of our online courses match your concern under the PSNI Code.

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Remediation in PSNI cases

The PSNI regulates pharmacists in Northern Ireland; the GPhC covers Great Britain. The two systems are separate, with different committees, rules and standards, so advice written for GPhC cases does not always transfer. In Northern Ireland, fitness to practise is governed by Schedule 3 to the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 and by the PSNI’s Fitness to Practise and Disqualification Regulations made in 2012.

Remediation means taking steps to understand what went wrong, put it right and make sure it does not happen again. In the PSNI process it matters at every point where a decision is made on the papers. The Scrutiny Committee does not hear oral evidence, so your written representations and the evidence attached to them are often the only way it learns what you have done since the concern arose.

Your remediation should be anchored in the PSNI Code. A revised Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance came into effect on 26 January 2026, succeeding the 2016 Code. Ask your adviser which version applies to events before that date, and use the current Code to show how you practise now.

Before you start

We are an independent CPD provider, not part of the PSNI. No regulator approves remediation courses, and no course can guarantee an outcome. Take advice from your defence organisation, union or solicitor, and agree with them which learning is relevant to your case.

Choosing a course for your PSNI concern

Start with the allegation and the part of the Code it engages, then pick one or two closely matched courses. The examples below reflect common types of pharmacy concern; they are a guide, not advice on your case.

Dispensing and clinical errors

Errors in dispensing, labelling or clinical checking go to safe, person-centred care. Committees will want to know that you understand the root cause as well as the error itself. Show what you learned, the changes you made to your checking process, and evidence over time that those changes are working in your pharmacy.

Honesty and integrity

Dishonesty, such as false claims, altered records or misleading statements, strikes at public trust in pharmacists. It is likely to be viewed seriously however strong the remediation. Your reflection should show genuine understanding of why integrity matters, what led you to act as you did, and the safeguards you now have.

Medicines supply and prescribing

Concerns about controlled drugs, over-supply, online supply or independent prescribing decisions engage your professional judgement and accountability. Show what you have learned about safe supply and prescribing, how you assess requests and clinical history, and when you refer to another professional or decline to supply. Include any changes to your pharmacy’s procedures.

Confidentiality and record keeping

Accessing records without reason, sharing information inappropriately or keeping poor records can all lead to a referral. Show that you now understand when information can lawfully be shared, how you protect it in a busy community or hospital pharmacy, and what complete, contemporaneous records look like. Link each change to the relevant part of the Code.

Communication, consent and complaints

Many concerns start with a conversation that went wrong at the counter or in the consultation room. Show how you now explain medicines and services, check understanding and consent, and respond calmly and openly when someone is unhappy, including how you would handle the same situation today. Feedback from patients or colleagues can help here.

Openness when things go wrong

Failing to report an error or not being honest with a patient can turn a minor mistake into a fitness to practise case. Show that you understand the professional duty of candour, how to report and learn from incidents, and how you now support your team to speak up. Show the reporting in practice.

Boundaries, behaviour and respect

Inappropriate relationships, comments or discriminatory behaviour towards patients or colleagues damage trust in the profession and may lead to serious outcomes. Remediation should show honest reflection on your attitudes and conduct, a real understanding of power and vulnerability, and visible change in how you treat people. Take specialist advice early in these cases.

How the PSNI handles a fitness to practise allegation

The PSNI process has fewer published stages than some regulators, but each one gives you a chance to put evidence forward. The steps below follow the structure of the legislation.

  1. 1

    Registrar’s initial consideration

    Allegations about a pharmacist’s fitness to practise go first to the Registrar, who screens them and decides whether and where they should be referred. The PSNI uses threshold criteria to help decide which cases go forward, and if your case is referred to the Scrutiny Committee you will be sent the documents and a copy of those criteria. Contact your defence organisation or union as soon as you hear from the PSNI.

  2. 2

    Your written representations

    You will be invited to make written representations on the allegation. This is the most important early opportunity in the process. Representations can set out what you accept, explain the context, and show the insight and remediation you have already begun. Because later committee decisions may be made without hearing from you in person, what you write here, and the evidence you attach, carries real weight.

  3. 3

    Scrutiny Committee

    The Scrutiny Committee meets in private and considers the case on the papers. It does not hear oral evidence. It reads the documents and recommendations placed before it by the Registrar and any written representations from you. It may only refer an allegation to the Statutory Committee if it is satisfied there is a real prospect that the Statutory Committee will find your fitness to practise impaired. You will be told the outcome in writing.

  4. 4

    Warnings, advice and undertakings

    The Scrutiny Committee can deal with a case without a hearing. It can issue a warning, give advice, or, where you admit that your fitness to practise is impaired, agree undertakings with you about your future practice. These outcomes avoid a hearing but are formal: ask your adviser how a warning or undertakings would be recorded and published, and what happens if a further allegation is made later.

  5. 5

    Interim orders

    Where the Scrutiny Committee refers a case and considers that an interim order may be needed, it must tell the Statutory Committee. The Statutory Committee can make an interim order suspending your registration or making it conditional while the full hearing is pending. An interim order is not a finding that the allegations are proved. Evidence of steps you have taken to reduce risk may be relevant when an interim order is considered.

  6. 6

    Statutory Committee hearing

    The Statutory Committee holds the full hearing. The regulations set the order of proceedings for different kinds of hearing, and documents are disclosed between the parties beforehand. The committee decides the facts, whether your fitness to practise is impaired, and what direction to make. It can suspend your registration, attach conditions to your entry or remove you from the register.

  7. 7

    Appeals and restoration

    Certain fitness to practise decisions of the Statutory Committee can be appealed to the High Court, and the legislation provides for interim measures pending a direction taking effect. A pharmacist who has been removed for fitness to practise reasons can later apply for restoration to the register. Any restoration application is likely to look closely at what you have done since, so a long-term record of learning and reflection matters.

What PSNI decision makers need to see

The PSNI process relies heavily on written evidence, especially before the Scrutiny Committee. These are the areas where well-chosen remediation makes a difference.

A clear position on the facts

Under the regulations, the Scrutiny Committee can only agree undertakings where you admit that your fitness to practise is impaired. That makes your position on the facts and on impairment central, not a formality. Take advice before you decide what to admit. Where you do accept that something went wrong, say so plainly and show that your remediation is built on that acceptance rather than on a defensive account of events.

Insight in writing

Because the Scrutiny Committee does not hear from you in person, your written representations must carry your insight on their own. Explain what happened, why it fell short of the PSNI Code, and how it affected patients and confidence in pharmacy in Northern Ireland. A reflective account written in your own words, supported by evidence of what you have done, is far more convincing than a general statement of regret.

Learning mapped to the Code

The Code that came into effect on 26 January 2026 sets out the professional standards expected of pharmacists at every stage of their career, built around safe, ethical and person-centred care. Choose courses that match the specific standard engaged by the allegation, and in your reflection quote the relevant part of the Code. That link shows the committee you understand what was expected and how you now meet it. Keep it specific.

Evidence of safe current practice

Certificates show learning, but committees also need to see that your practice has changed. Combine online courses with workplace evidence: a revised standard operating procedure, an audit of dispensing or records, feedback from a supervising pharmacist, or a summary of incident reporting. If you are not currently working, show how you have kept your knowledge up to date and how you will manage risk when you return. Date every piece of evidence.

Recommended PSNI remediation courses

All 19

Each course is self-paced and online. You get scenario-based questions with an 80% pass mark, a structured reflective account and a CPD certificate showing your name, the course title and the CPD hours.

Preparing your written evidence for the PSNI

Because so much of the PSNI process happens on paper, organise your evidence so a committee can read it quickly. Date every item and link it to the allegation.

What to put in your bundle

  • A reflective statement for each allegation, quoting the relevant part of the PSNI Code.
  • Certificates from targeted courses, each with a short note on what you learned and what you changed.
  • Revised standard operating procedures or checklists you introduced after the incident.
  • Results of a dispensing, prescribing or records audit, showing improvement over time.
  • A report from a supervising or mentoring pharmacist who knows about the concern.
  • Testimonials that comment on your current practice rather than your general character.
  • Your CPD records, showing that remediation sits within ongoing professional development.
  • A personal development plan with specific, dated objectives.

Writing your reflection

  1. Quote the part of the PSNI Code you fell short of and explain why it matters to patients in Northern Ireland.
  2. Describe events factually, without minimising them or blaming colleagues or systems alone.
  3. Explain the causes you have identified and what you have done about each one.
  4. Give a concrete example from your current work that shows the change.
  5. Keep it in your own words; it may be the main way the Scrutiny Committee hears from you.

When to start remediation

Start as soon as the PSNI contacts you, and ideally before you send your written representations. The Scrutiny Committee decides on the papers, so evidence that is not in front of it cannot help you. Remediation that is already under way shows the committee that you took the concern seriously from the start.

Then keep building. If your case goes to the Statutory Committee, or if an interim order is considered, you will want to show a sustained, dated record of learning and changed practice. A few targeted courses early, followed by workplace evidence gathered over the following months, is usually more persuasive than a large number of certificates completed in a short burst.

The 2026 PSNI Code and your remediation

The PSNI launched a revised Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance for Pharmacists in Northern Ireland on 26 January 2026. The PSNI says it sets out professional standards for pharmacists at all stages of their career and reflects how practice has changed, with pharmacists now delivering expanded clinical services, prescribing and working more closely in multidisciplinary teams.

If your concern relates to events before 26 January 2026, the conduct may be judged against the Code in force at the time; ask your adviser. Either way, remediation is about your practice now, so show that you know the current Code and meet it. Read it in full before writing your reflective statement.

Common mistakes in PSNI cases

  • Assuming the process is the same as the GPhC’s; the PSNI has its own committees, rules and Code.
  • Sending thin written representations and planning to explain in person, when the Scrutiny Committee does not hear oral evidence.
  • Agreeing undertakings, which require an admission of impairment, without first taking advice.
  • Referring only to the old 2016 Code without explaining how you now meet the Code in force from 26 January 2026.
  • Collecting unrelated CPD certificates instead of a few closely matched courses with a strong reflection.
  • Responding to the PSNI without advice from a defence organisation, union or solicitor.

Core course

Fitness to Practise for Healthcare Professionals

Our most complete remediation course: 4 CPD hours and 40 scenario questions on impairment, insight, remediation and reflection, with a certificate when you pass.

£ 150 Add to cart See the full curriculum

PSNI remediation: common questions

Are these courses approved by the PSNI?

No. The PSNI does not approve, accredit or endorse remediation courses from any provider. The Scrutiny Committee and Statutory Committee decide how much weight to give the evidence you put forward. Our courses include a CPD certificate and help you show structured learning and reflection on a specific concern, but the decision is always a matter for the PSNI’s committees.

Will completing a course guarantee a better outcome?

No. No course can guarantee an outcome. Committees consider the seriousness of the concern and the evidence as a whole. Remediation helps most when it is targeted to the allegation, supported by an honest reflective statement and backed by evidence that your practice has changed. For the most serious conduct, such as dishonesty, even strong remediation may not prevent a serious outcome.

Is a PSNI case the same as a GPhC case?

No. The PSNI regulates pharmacists in Northern Ireland and the GPhC regulates pharmacy professionals in Great Britain. They have separate legislation, committees and standards. In Northern Ireland, cases go through the Registrar, the Scrutiny Committee and the Statutory Committee, and conduct is measured against the PSNI Code. Make sure any advice or guidance you rely on is specific to Northern Ireland.

Can I speak to the Scrutiny Committee in person?

The Scrutiny Committee meets in private and does not hear oral evidence. It considers the Registrar’s documents and recommendations and your written representations. That is why the quality of your written response matters so much. Set out your position clearly, include your reflective statement, and attach evidence of the remediation you have completed, with advice from your defence organisation or solicitor.

What are undertakings and do I have to admit impairment?

Undertakings are commitments about your future practice, agreed with the Scrutiny Committee instead of a referral to a hearing. Under the regulations, they can only be agreed where you admit that your fitness to practise is impaired, and they are a formal outcome with consequences for your registration. Because an admission has consequences, take advice before agreeing. Targeted courses and supervision often make undertakings workable.

Which Code should my reflection refer to?

The Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance for Pharmacists in Northern Ireland came into effect on 26 January 2026. If your concern relates to earlier events, ask your adviser which version the committee will apply to the conduct itself. Your reflection should still show that you understand the current Code and how you meet it in your practice today.

What is included with each course?

You get instant online access and can work through the course at your own pace. Standard courses give 2 CPD hours and a 15-question multiple choice assessment; the Fitness to Practise course gives 4 CPD hours and 40 questions. You need 80% to pass, then you complete a structured reflective account and download a CPD certificate PDF naming you, the course and the hours.

Official sources

This page was checked against Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland guidance in October 2026. Processes and guidance change, so always confirm the current position with the regulator and your adviser. This page is general information, not legal advice.

PSNI CPD requirements explained

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