A superintendent pharmacist is the pharmacist responsible for the professional management of a pharmacy business owned by a company. Anyone buying a pharmacy through a limited company will need a superintendent in place from completion, and failing to arrange this properly can delay the purchase or lead to the pharmacy being removed from the register.
This guide explains the role, when it is required and what buyers need to arrange as part of a change of ownership.
What Does a Superintendent Pharmacist Do?
The superintendent pharmacist, often referred to as the SP, is responsible for the professional and clinical side of the business. Pharmacies owned by a company may have directors who are not pharmacists, so the law requires a pharmacist to be accountable for how medicines are handled and how the pharmacy is managed.
According to the GPhC, the superintendent’s responsibilities include the following.
- Managing the professional and clinical running of the pharmacy, including the purchase and safe management of medicines
- Leading the pharmacy team and making sure pharmacists and pharmacy technicians meet GPhC standards
- Arranging staff training and maintaining an appropriate skill mix
- Assessing and managing risk, and overseeing the pharmacy’s standard operating procedures (SOPs)
- Making sure staff are able to contact the superintendent and the responsible pharmacist
- Making sure the superintendent’s details are displayed on the pharmacy’s website
- Supervising trainees
The superintendent remains responsible for the pharmacy at all times, including outside opening hours. Where a company owns several pharmacies, one superintendent will usually cover all of them.
When Is a Superintendent Pharmacist Required?
Under section 71 of the Medicines Act 1968, a pharmacy business run by a body corporate must be under the management of a superintendent pharmacist. This applies where the pharmacy is owned by a limited company, a limited liability partnership, an NHS trust or another corporate body.
A pharmacist who owns a pharmacy as a sole trader, or a partnership made up of pharmacists, does not need to appoint a superintendent.
Most pharmacy purchases are now made through a limited company, whether that is a new company set up by the buyer or the seller’s existing company in a share purchase. As a result, the requirement applies to most buyers.
Who Can Be a Superintendent Pharmacist?
The superintendent must be a registered pharmacist. Since the Pharmacy (Responsible Pharmacists, Superintendent Pharmacists etc.) Order 2022, the superintendent is also expected to be a senior manager within the business, with the authority to make decisions about how the pharmacy is run.
A pharmacist buying through their own company can act as their own superintendent. Buyers who are not pharmacists, such as investors or business owners from outside the sector, will need to appoint a pharmacist to the role. Given the level of responsibility involved, we would recommend agreeing who will take this on, and on what terms, well before completion.
Anyone taking on the role must make declarations to the GPhC as part of their nomination and should be satisfied that the role is within their competence.
Superintendent Pharmacist vs Responsible Pharmacist
The two roles are often confused, although they cover different areas.
| Superintendent pharmacist | Responsible pharmacist | |
| Who needs one | Pharmacies owned by a company or other corporate body | Every registered pharmacy |
| Scope | The whole pharmacy business, which may include several branches | One pharmacy, while they are signed in |
| When responsible | At all times, including outside opening hours | While acting as RP for that shift |
| Main focus | Professional management, policies, SOPs, training and risk | The safe and effective running of the pharmacy on the day |
The superintendent is responsible for the policies and procedures the pharmacy operates under, while the responsible pharmacist runs the pharmacy within those procedures on a given day. In a company with a single pharmacy, one person may hold both roles, but they remain separate legal positions.
What Do Buyers Need to Arrange on a Change of Ownership?
The steps depend on whether the pharmacy is being bought as an asset purchase or a share purchase. Our guide to asset purchase vs share purchase explains the two structures in more detail.
Asset Purchase Through a Company
When a company buys a pharmacy business as an asset purchase, the ownership of the pharmacy changes. The new owner must notify the GPhC within 28 days of completion using the change of ownership notification form, which needs to be signed by both the buyer and the seller. The fee must be paid before the GPhC will process it.
If the buying company does not already own a pharmacy, a superintendent pharmacist must be nominated as part of the same notification. Where the GPhC does not receive a completed form in time, the pharmacy will be removed from the register and must close immediately. It can only reopen once a restoration application has been made and the restoration fee paid.
Buyers will also need to apply to NHS England for a change of ownership. This application includes fitness to practise declarations covering the company’s directors and its superintendent, so having the superintendent confirmed early helps avoid delays.
Share Purchase
In a share purchase, the company that owns the pharmacy does not change, and neither does the registered owner. The superintendent often does change, however, as the seller or their pharmacist will usually leave the business on completion.
A superintendent who stops acting must notify the GPhC no later than 28 days afterwards, using the resignation form along with evidence of the date they stopped. The incoming superintendent is nominated using the GPhC’s nomination form. If the company holds an NHS contract, NHS England must also be informed of the change. Buyers should plan the handover so that there is no gap between the two.
Points to Agree Before Completion
Before the sale completes, buyers should confirm who will act as superintendent from the first day of ownership and check that this person holds a senior management position with genuine authority in the business. The superintendent should have reviewed the SOPs and agreed to take responsibility for them. Their details will be needed for the GPhC forms and the NHS England fitness to practise declarations, and the pharmacy’s website will need updating with their details after completion.
Upcoming Changes to the Role
The 2022 legislation gave the GPhC powers to set professional standards for superintendent pharmacists, and the GPhC has said that new standards for superintendents and new rules for responsible pharmacists will follow. As the detail of the role may change, buyers should check the GPhC’s website for the current position before making an appointment.
Healthcare Plus prepares the GPhC notifications and NHS England applications for buyers, including the superintendent nomination and fitness to practise declarations. You can find out more about our change of ownership and fitness to practise application service, read our guide to change of ownership applications, or get in touch with our team.
