APPG leader Baroness Julia Cumberlege has asked Pharmacy Minister Earl Howe to complete negotiations quickly with the Crown Prosecution Service on dispensing error law reform.

In a letter to Early Howe, acting APPG chair Baroness Cumberlege asked for an update on progress and an indication on when the profession can expect results.

The letter follows a high-profile case in which the Appeal Court overturned a suspended jail sentence handed to pharmacist Elizabeth Lee after she made a one-off dispensing error while working as a locum for Tesco in 2007. The Court of Appeal ruled Ms Lee’s punishment should be reduced to a £300 fine.

Chief pharmaceutical oficer Keith Ridge reassured the APPG at the end of last year by saying that discussions were at an advanced stage and that the Government would be issuing new guidelines early in the New Year.

“The last Government promised reform early this year and it has not delivered," said APPG leader Baroness Cumberlege. She said it was encouraging that the new Minister has previously supported decriminalising dispensing errors, but emphasised that the situation needed to be resolved quickly.

“We need fast and decisive action from the Government which will put this problem to bed once and for all.

“Pharmacists face the prospect of a criminal conviction for reporting a genuine mistake. The system is undermining the profession, and we are concerned that the law reforms happen as soon as possible,” the Baroness added.