Pharmacy closures
| Authority | Manx Care |
|---|---|
| Date received | 2021-10-08 |
| Outcome | Some information sent but not all held |
| Outcome date | 2021-11-04 |
| Case ID | 2029781 |
Summary
The requester asked for pharmacy contracts, a three-year list of closures, and details on fines; Manx Care disclosed closure data from October 2020 to November 2021 but refused the contract copy and fine details, citing that penalties do not exist and creating a three-year list would require deriving new information.
Key Facts
- Manx Care stated there are no legal powers (vires) in the Pharmacy Regulations 2005 to issue penalties or fines for closures.
- The authority refused to provide a list of closures for the full three-year period as it would require creating or deriving information not currently held.
- Pharmacy opening hours are agreed individually with each pharmacy and can be amended with 90 days' notice.
- A shortage of pharmacists and difficulty in recruiting locums on the Isle of Man were cited as reasons for closures.
- Disclosure was limited to records from October 2020 to the date of the response (November 2021).
Data Disclosed
- 2029781
- 2021-10-08
- 2021-11-04
- October 2020
- 64
- 76
- 40 hours per week
- 90 days
- Pharmacy Regulations 2005
- section 8(3)
- section S11(3)(b)
Exemptions Cited
- Section 8(3) of The Act (things a public authority is not required to do)
- Section S11(3)(b) (creating or deriving information)
Original Request
Please can you supply: 1. A copy of the pharmacy contract awarded to pharmacies, clearly showing the number of hours they are contracted to open (in the UK this would be 40 hours per week) and also showing the penalties should the pharmacy not meet this contractual requirement. 2. Please provide a list of all pharmacy closures notified to you in the last three years, preferably by individual pharmacy but at least by region. 3. Please supply details of fines and enforcement action taken for repeated closures over the last three years.
Data Tables (2)
| Hours Closed | Oct 20 | Nov 20 | Dec 20 | Jan 21 | Feb 21 | Mar 21 | May 21 | Jun 21 | Jul 21 | Aug 21 | Oct 21 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 29 |
| Onchan | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||
| Peel | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Port Erin | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Port St Mary | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Ramsey | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 27 | ||
| Total | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 64 |
| Duration of Closure (Days) | Oct 20 | Nov 20 | Dec 20 | Jan 21 | Feb 21 | Mar 21 | May 21 | Jun 21 | Jul 21 | Aug 21 | Oct 21 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 36 |
| 0.25 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 0.50 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | |
| 1.00 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 16 | |||
| 1.50 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 2.00 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Onchan | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||||||
| 0.50 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | |||||||
| 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Peel | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 1.00 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Port Erin | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 0.50 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Port St Mary | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 0.50 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Ramsey | 1 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 28 | ||
| 0.25 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 0.50 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |||||
| 1.00 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 12 | ||||||
| 2.00 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 3.00 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 4.00 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Grand Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 76 |
Full Response Text
FOI 2029781 Pharmacy Closures Number of Hours Closed Hours Closed Oct 20 Nov 20 Dec 20 Jan 21 Feb 21 Mar 21 May 21 Jun 21 Jul 21 Aug 21 Oct 21 Total Douglas 1 1 1 3 1 3 3 2 11 4 2 29 Onchan 1 2 2 1 1 6 Peel 1 1 Port Erin 1 1 Port St Mary 1 1 Ramsey 1 4 6 2 7 2 4 1 1 27 Total 1 2 4 9 1 6 11 7 16 6 3 64 Number of Closures and Duration Duration of Closure (Days) Oct 20 Nov 20 Dec 20 Jan 21 Feb 21 Mar 21 May 21 Jun 21 Jul 21 Aug 21 Oct 21 Total Douglas 1 1 1 5 1 4 4 3 10 4 2 36 0.25 1 1 0.50 1 1 2 1 2 3 2 2 1 1 16 1.00 1 2 2 1 1 5 3 1 16 1.50 2 2 2.00 1 1 Onchan 1 2 4 1 1 9 0.50 1 1 4 1 7 1.00 1 1 2 Peel 1 1 1.00 1 1 Port Erin 1 1 0.50 1 1 Port St Mary 1 1 0.50 1 1 Ramsey 1 2 9 2 4 3 4 2 1 28 0.25 3 3 0.50 1 2 2 2 2 1 10 1.00 1 4 2 1 4 12 2.00 1 1 3.00 1 1 4.00 1 1 Grand Total 1 2 3 14 1 7 10 11 16 7 4 76
Manx Care Noble’s Hospital, Strang Braddan, Isle of Man IM4 4R (01624) 650 000
Our ref: 2029781 4th November 2021
Dear ###
We write further to your request which was received on 8th October 2021 and which states:
"Please can you supply: 1. A copy of the pharmacy contract awarded to pharmacies, clearly showing the number of hours they are contracted to open (in the UK this would be 40 hours per week) and also showing the penalties should the pharmacy not meet this contractual requirement. 2. Please provide a list of all pharmacy closures notified to you in the last three years, preferably by individual pharmacy but at least by region. 3. Please supply details of fines and enforcement action taken for repeated closures over the last three years."
Our Response 1. A copy of the pharmacy contract awarded to pharmacies, clearly showing the number of hours they are contracted to open (in the UK this would be 40 hours per week) and also showing the penalties should the pharmacy not meet this contractual requirement.
The contractual hours are agreed with each pharmacy when the ‘contract’ is issued – and the
hours they are open reflects this. These can be amended with Manx Care agreement and at
90 days notice.
For advice and assistance, the opening hours can be found on the Government website
www.gov.im/pharmacies.
2. Please provide a list of all pharmacy closures notified to you in the last three years,
preferably by individual pharmacy but at least by region.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, complying with your request
would require the public authority to do one or more of the matters mentioned in section 8(3)
of The Act: things a public authority is not required to do section S11(3)(b).
In this instance, complying with your request for information would require us to create or
derive information from information that we hold.
However, for advice and assistance, we have been able to provide records from October 2020
to present: please see Appendix 1.
- Please supply details of fines and enforcement action taken for repeated closures over the last three years. In the Pharmacy Regulations 2005 there are no vires to issue penalties, and the contract is issued based on professionalism and adherence to opening hours. The IOM and UK are experiencing a shortage of pharmacists at present. Locums are difficult to recruit on island and pharmacies are continually trying to recruit locums for the Isle of Man. Please quote the reference number 2029781 in any future communications. Your right to request a review
If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.
An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at
https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of
our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange
for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and
should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been
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Information Commissioner for a decision on;
1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part
2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or
2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
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attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of
alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any
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Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im.
Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.
I will now close your request as of this date.