Controlled Drugs
Controlled Drug Accountable Officer (CDAO) – West Yorkshire
The CD Accountable Officer for NHS England (North East and Yorkshire) is Gazala Khan.
Email: england.yhcdao@nhs.net
Reporting CD Incidents: Report via www.cdreporting.co.uk
Destruction of Controlled Drugs
Stock Controlled Drugs
All stocks of Schedule 2 Controlled Drugs must be witnessed by a person authorised by the Lead Accountable Officer for NHS England.
Any stocks of Controlled drugs in Schedule 3, and 4 (Part 1) must be denatured before being disposed of by healthcare staff that are lawfully in possession of these, and pharmacies should ensure they have a ‘T28 exemption’ from the Environment Agency that permits this activity for the relevant registered premises.
Authorised Witness Application
A registered healthcare professional who is not responsible for the day to day use or management of CDs at the provider premises can apply to act as an authorised person and witness the destruction of Schedule 2 Controlled Drugs.
Providers will need to:
- Nominate a registered healthcare professional, this could be a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician for pharmacies or GP/Nurse for GP dispensing practices.
- Complete a destruction request via the CD Reporting Tool http://www.cdreporting.co.uk.
- Complete the authorised witness application via the CD Reporting Tool http://www.cdreporting.co.uk/
PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST COMPLETE THE DESTRUCTION REQUEST AND AUTHORISED WITNESS APPLICATION
Once the application has been assessed and regulatory checks have been completed the CDAO will determine to issue an Authorised Witness status limited to 28 days to witness the destruction of controlled drugs with the quantities listed on your portal request. The Authorised witness will be issued with guidance to help with record keeping.
Providers who are unable to apply or not approved for an Authorised Witness can submit a destruction request via the CD Reporting Tool http://www.cdreporting.co.uk and the CD team will allocate an NHS England approved witness.
Community Pharmacies – Multiples
NHS England Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) Regulations 2013 Single Operating Model; Annex 6: Authorisation of witnesses to destroy Controlled Drugs highlights the following for Community Pharmacies – Multiples:
NHS England anticipates that corporate bodies operating in excess of 5 or more pharmacy premises will seek to have suitably trained employees designated as Authorised Witnesses by the appropriate NHS England and Improvement CDAO.
A corporate body operating 5 or more pharmacies may apply to the appropriate NHS England CDAO to designate suitably trained individual employees and/or class of employees as Authorised Witnesses.
The appropriate NHS England CDAO is the one for the regional team where the corporate body’s registered office is located.
The appropriate NHS England CDAO may designate suitably trained individual employees and/or class of employees in a corporate body as Authorised Witnesses where the individuals described are not routinely involved in the management and use of CDs in the premises in which they are acting as an Authorised Witness.
The Superintendent Pharmacist of the corporate body is accountable to the appropriate NHS England & NHS Improvement CDAO for the governance arrangements around the witnessed destruction of CDs in their premises.
Where an NHS England CDAO designates Authorised Witnesses for a corporate body then the responsibility for the provision of Authorised Witnesses to witness the destruction of obsolete CDs within their premises rest with the body corporate. A corporate body may contract with an independent Authorised Witness to facilitate the witnessed destruction of obsolete CDs.
Multiple pharmacies can register and apply for witnesses to be authorised by completing the form below and returning to england.yhcdao@nhs.net.
Controlled Drugs – Multiple Pharmacy Application
Patient Returns of Controlled Drugs
Patient returned Controlled Drugs for Schedule 2, 3 and 4 (Part 1) can be destroyed without the presence of an authorised witness, however the destruction should be witnessed by another colleague and logs kept of destructions e.g., a Controlled Drugs Patient Returns Book. A ‘T28 exemption’ must also be in place for this to be undertaken.
Last Updated: 5th September 2023
