Statute Details
- Title: Nurses and Midwives (Exemption for Approved Pharmacists) Regulations 2024
- Act Code: NMA1999-S693-2024
- Legislative Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Enacting / Authorising Act: Nurses and Midwives Act 1999 (s 44(1))
- Regulatory Body: Singapore Nursing Board (with Minister for Health’s approval)
- SL Number: S 693/2024
- Made Date: 3 September 2024
- Commencement Date: 4 September 2024
- Key Provisions: s 1 (citation and commencement); s 2 (definitions); s 3 (persons who may carry out influenza vaccinations)
- Related Legislation: Nurses and Midwives Act 1999; Health Products (Therapeutic Products) Regulations 2016 (notably Third Schedule, Part 2 and Third Schedule, Part 1, item 4)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Nurses and Midwives (Exemption for Approved Pharmacists) Regulations 2024 (“the Regulations”) create a targeted regulatory carve-out from the general professional practice restrictions under the Nurses and Midwives Act 1999 (“the Act”). In plain terms, the Regulations allow certain “approved pharmacists” to carry out influenza vaccinations at “approved retail pharmacies” without breaching specified provisions of the Act—provided that the vaccination is performed in accordance with defined conditions.
The practical focus is narrow: influenza vaccinations administered intramuscularly. The Regulations do not broadly authorise pharmacists to perform all nursing or midwifery-related acts. Instead, they address a specific public health and service-delivery need—expanding access to influenza vaccination—while maintaining a compliance framework by tying pharmacist vaccination to the Health Products (Therapeutic Products) Regulations 2016 (“HP(TP) Regulations 2016”).
From a legal and compliance perspective, the Regulations operate as an exemption mechanism. They ensure that, for the limited purpose of influenza vaccination in specified settings, the statutory restrictions that would otherwise apply to nurses and midwives do not apply to approved pharmacists (and do not restrict their employment for that purpose). This is achieved by referencing particular subsections of the Act (including s 27 and s 28) and by importing conditions from the HP(TP) Regulations 2016.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Section 1 (Citation and commencement) is straightforward. It provides the short title and confirms that the Regulations come into operation on 4 September 2024. For practitioners, the commencement date matters for determining whether a pharmacist’s vaccination activity is covered by the exemption at the relevant time.
Section 2 (Definitions) sets the key terminology. The Regulations define “approved pharmacist” and “approved retail pharmacy” by reference to the Third Schedule, Part 2 to the HP(TP) Regulations 2016. This drafting technique is important: it means the eligibility criteria for who qualifies as an “approved pharmacist” and what premises qualify as an “approved retail pharmacy” are not re-written here. Instead, they are incorporated by reference, so changes to the HP(TP) Regulations’ Third Schedule may indirectly affect the scope of the exemption.
Section 2 also defines “influenza vaccination” as an intramuscular injection to introduce a vaccine for the purpose of providing protection against influenza. This definition is legally significant because it limits the exemption to influenza vaccinations administered intramuscularly. If a vaccination is not intramuscular (for example, if a different route were used), the exemption’s coverage could be disputed. Similarly, the exemption is tied to influenza protection, not other vaccines or immunisations.
Section 3 (Persons who may carry out influenza vaccinations) contains the operative exemption. It is structured in two limbs: one dealing with the act of carrying out vaccination, and another dealing with the employment of pharmacists to carry out vaccination.
Section 3(1) provides that, for the purposes of s 27(6)(c) of the Act, s 27(1) does not apply to an approved pharmacist who carries out an influenza vaccination at an approved retail pharmacy in accordance with the conditions specified in item 4 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the HP(TP) Regulations 2016. In practical terms, this means that the general prohibition or restriction in s 27(1) (as applied through s 27(6)(c)) is lifted for the specified pharmacist activity—so long as the pharmacist complies with the imported conditions.
Section 3(2) provides a parallel exemption for employment arrangements. For the purposes of s 28(4)(c) of the Act, s 28(1) does not apply to the employment of an approved pharmacist to carry out an influenza vaccination at an approved retail pharmacy, again in accordance with the conditions specified in item 4 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the HP(TP) Regulations 2016. This is crucial for employers and pharmacy operators: it clarifies that the exemption is not only about the pharmacist’s personal authority to vaccinate, but also about whether employing such a pharmacist for that purpose would breach the Act.
Conditions specified in item 4 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule (HP(TP) Regulations 2016) are therefore the compliance “gate”. Although the extract provided does not reproduce item 4’s text, the legal effect is clear: the exemption is conditional. A practitioner advising a pharmacy operator should treat item 4 as the controlling checklist—covering matters such as training/competency, clinical governance, consent, documentation, supervision or protocols, and any operational requirements for vaccination at retail premises.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Regulations are concise and consist of an enacting formula followed by three operative sections:
Section 1 sets out citation and commencement.
Section 2 provides definitions, primarily by reference to the HP(TP) Regulations 2016.
Section 3 creates the exemption for approved pharmacists, addressing both (i) the act of carrying out influenza vaccinations and (ii) the employment of approved pharmacists to do so. The exemption is expressly limited to vaccinations performed at approved retail pharmacies and only when carried out in accordance with specified conditions in the HP(TP) Regulations 2016.
Notably, the Regulations do not create a new licensing regime within the Nurses and Midwives framework. Instead, they rely on existing regulatory categories (“approved pharmacist” and “approved retail pharmacy”) already defined in the HP(TP) Regulations 2016. This design reduces duplication and aligns professional practice exemptions with the broader therapeutic product and pharmacy regulatory system.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Regulations apply to approved pharmacists and approved retail pharmacies—as those terms are defined by the HP(TP) Regulations 2016. Accordingly, the exemption is not available to all pharmacists. It is available only to those who meet the “approved” status under the referenced Health Products framework.
In addition, the exemption has implications for employers (including pharmacy operators) because s 3(2) addresses the employment of approved pharmacists to carry out influenza vaccinations. Therefore, the Regulations are relevant not only to individual pharmacists but also to corporate entities and management responsible for staffing, authorising clinical activities, and ensuring compliance with the conditions in the HP(TP) Regulations’ Third Schedule.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
These Regulations are important because they reconcile two regulatory objectives: (1) maintaining the integrity of nursing and midwifery professional boundaries under the Nurses and Midwives Act 1999, and (2) enabling pharmacists—within a defined scope—to contribute to public health delivery, particularly influenza vaccination.
For practitioners, the key significance lies in the conditional exemption. The exemption is not automatic for “approved pharmacists” merely because they are pharmacists. It is contingent on the vaccination being carried out at an approved retail pharmacy and in accordance with the conditions in item 4 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the HP(TP) Regulations 2016. This means legal risk remains if a pharmacy or pharmacist deviates from those conditions. In enforcement terms, the exemption provides a defence or safe harbour only when the statutory conditions are met.
From a compliance and advisory standpoint, the Regulations also clarify that the law addresses both conduct and employment. Employers should ensure that their internal policies, training records, consent and documentation processes, and operational protocols align with the referenced conditions. Where pharmacists are deployed to vaccinate, legal counsel should consider whether the pharmacy’s governance and audit trails can demonstrate compliance with the item 4 requirements—because the exemption’s availability depends on that factual and procedural alignment.
Finally, the Regulations demonstrate a common legislative technique in Singapore regulatory drafting: using subsidiary legislation to create targeted exemptions while importing definitions and conditions by reference to another regulatory instrument. This promotes regulatory coherence but requires careful cross-referencing by legal practitioners.
Related Legislation
- Nurses and Midwives Act 1999 (notably ss 27 and 28, including the referenced subsections)
- Health Products (Therapeutic Products) Regulations 2016 (notably:
- Third Schedule, Part 2 (definitions of “approved pharmacist” and “approved retail pharmacy”)
- Third Schedule, Part 1, item 4 (conditions that must be satisfied for the exemption to apply)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Nurses and Midwives (Exemption for Approved Pharmacists) Regulations 2024 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.