Changes to dispensing doctor regulations should not have been included in the pharmacy white paper, the RPSGB’s English Pharmacy Board (EPB) has said.

Howard Duff, the Society's director for England, said pharmacy had been given an opportunity to address “problematic areas” of the contract through the Department of Health consultation on legislative changes proposed in the blueprint.

But, in submitting the EPB's consultation response to the DH, Mr Duff added: “It is disappointing that the issue of dispensing doctors is included in the paper, as it detracts from the core issue of progressing important pharmacy services.”

Plans in the white paper prevent practices located too close to pharmacies from dispensing. The plans have attracted widely-publicised local opposition from dispensing doctors.

Where dispensing practices were needed, their dispensing activity must be subject to the same regulation as that in pharmacies to ensure patient safety, the EPB told the DH.

More detail on the quality of PCTs’ Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments (PNAs) were needed, the EPB also said in its consultation response, before they could be used to assess pharmacy applications. But the EPB supported market entry based on needs assessment “in principle”, it added.