Hub and Spoke Dispensing - UK Government Announces Next Steps
Published: 01/05/25
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced draft legislation has been laid out, with a view to the legislation coming into force for Hub and Spoke dispensing between different community pharmacy legal entities in October 2025 (The Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing etc.) Regulations 2025).
The delay to the changes coming into force is required to provide sufficient time for the relevant amendments to the NHS pharmacy regulations to be made by each devolved government.
The Hub and Spoke consultation, which Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) responded to considered two models of hub and spoke dispensing:
Model 1 - the spoke sending the order to the hub, the hub sending the medicines to the spoke and the spoke supplying the medicine to the patient.
Model 2 - the spoke sending the order to the hub and the hub supplying the medicine to the patient.
During the consultation concerns were raised regarding model 2. The DHSC have taken these views into account, and propose to introduce model 1 only at this stage, with the view of revisiting model 2, once model 1 has bedded in.
Key points of The Human Medicines Regulations (HMR) amendments are:
Only Model 1: patient – spoke – hub – spoke – patient, is permitted.
The spoke pharmacy must have entered into written arrangements with the hub pharmacy; these must include a comprehensive agreement of the responsibilities each has for the shared dispensing process.
The spoke must sell, supply, or dispense the medicine to the patient, the hub having assembled or part assembled it – under the arrangements.
The dispensed medicine must be labelled with the spoke’s name and address, and the date on which the hub assembled or part assembled the medicine (as well as the usual information required on a dispensing label).
The sharing of patient data between the hub and spoke (without the explicit consent of a patient) is permitted through an information gateway which includes a requirement for the spoke to display an appropriate notice to patients and staff at the spoke and hub to maintain the confidentiality of the patient data.
CPS welcomes this news of model 1 adoption, which is precisely what we called for in our response to the original hub and spoke consultation. Our members will soon have more options available to them when it comes to dispensing efficiency, whilst the all-important handover to patients will remain protected.
CPS will continue to update members on this subject in due course.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced draft legislation has been laid out, with a view to the legislation coming into force for Hub and Spoke dispensing between different community pharmacy legal entities in October 2025 (The Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing etc.) Regulations 2025).