Remediation in PSI cases
The PSI regulates pharmacists and pharmacies in Ireland, and complaints can be made about either. The Pharmacy Act 2007 sets out the grounds, which include professional misconduct, poor professional performance, impairment, failure to comply with conditions or with an undertaking given to a Committee of Inquiry under section 46, breaches of the Act and its regulations, breaches of medicines legislation such as the Misuse of Drugs Acts, and certain convictions.
Your professional standards are set by the PSI Code of Conduct 2019, with its seven principles: put the patient first, act professionally, communicate effectively, work with others, show leadership, maintain competence, and be open and honest. Most complaints touch one or two of these principles, and good remediation starts by naming them.
The PSI's Guide to Sanctioning lists insight and remediation among the mitigating factors Council considers, describing it as accepting that you should have behaved differently and taking timely steps to remediate or apologising at an early stage. It also lists keeping up to date and working within your competence. The PSI does not vet course providers, but targeted learning with genuine reflection is exactly the kind of evidence that guidance describes.
Before you start
No regulator vets or recommends remediation course providers, and no course can guarantee an outcome. Take advice from your indemnity provider, union or solicitor, and agree with them which learning is relevant to your case.
Which course fits your PSI concern
The PSI's published Learning from Inquiries highlights recurring themes. Match your concern to the theme, then to the principle of the Code of Conduct it engages.
Dispensing errors and prescription review
Recurring cases involve failing to clinically review the original prescription before each dispensing, misreading doses and dispensing from computer records. Remediation should show a robust personal checking process, error logging and how you now apply your pharmacy's SOPs.
Controlled drugs and methadone
Methadone instalment errors and poor controlled drug records recur in PSI cases, and breaches of the Misuse of Drugs Acts are a ground of complaint. Show you understand the legal requirements and the checks you now make against the original prescription.
Patient counselling and communication
Failing to explain dose, duration, side effects or interactions, including for children and high-tech medicines, is a repeated learning point. Remediation should show how you now confirm the patient or carer has understood.
Supervision, SOPs and governance
Superintendent and supervising pharmacists are frequently criticised for not overseeing staff compliance with SOPs or not knowing about serious errors. Learning on risk management, audit and teamwork, applied to your own pharmacy, is the most relevant evidence.
Error reporting and openness
Not reporting a dispensing error to the patient, prescriber or superintendent engages the be open and honest principle. Show that you understand open disclosure and how you now report and learn from incidents.
Honesty and probity
Dishonesty, including inaccurate records, claims or statements to the PSI or an employer, is an aggravating factor in the Guide to Sanctioning. Reflection must be candid, not defensive.
Professional conduct and social media
PSI inquiries have found that inflammatory posts by a pharmacist identifying themselves professionally damaged the reputation of the profession. Remediation should cover online conduct and the act professionally principle.
CPD and ePortfolio engagement
From January 2027, ePortfolio Review is annual, and the PSI can propose to refuse continued registration for non-engagement without an approved exemption. If CPD is part of your concern, rebuild your ePortfolio with genuine CPD cycles.
How the PSI complaints process works
The PSI describes two stages: a screening stage led by the Preliminary Proceedings Committee, and an inquiry stage before a Committee of Inquiry, followed by the Council's decision on sanction.
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Complaint received and your observations
A Case Officer from the PSI's Legal Affairs team acts as a neutral point of contact and writes to the relevant parties, which can include the superintendent pharmacist, supervising pharmacist and pharmacy owner. You may submit written observations, usually within 14 days, but you are not obliged to. The PSI advises consulting your insurer or indemnifier, representative body or solicitor, and says it cannot give legal advice.
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Preliminary Proceedings Committee
The Preliminary Proceedings Committee decides whether further action is necessary, not whether the complaint is proven. It may request more information and considers whether a complaint is trivial, vexatious or made in bad faith. If it finds a case for further action, it can refer the complaint to mediation or to a Committee of Inquiry. If it advises that there is insufficient cause, the PSI Council is asked whether it agrees.
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Mediation
Mediation is a confidential process in which a neutral mediator helps both sides agree an outcome. It is only available where the Preliminary Proceedings Committee has decided further action is needed, both sides must agree, and not every complaint is suitable. If it does not resolve the complaint, the matter can proceed to inquiry.
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Interim suspension (section 45)
Where a complaint indicates a serious and immediate risk to the health and safety of the public, an emergency Council meeting considers whether to apply to the High Court under section 45 for an order suspending the registration of the pharmacist or pharmacy. You are invited, with a legal representative if you wish, to address Council, and it is ultimately for the High Court to decide.
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Committee of Inquiry
You receive a Notice of Inquiry setting out the allegations, along with witness statements and any expert reports. The Professional Conduct Committee hears misconduct and poor professional performance cases, normally in public; the Health Committee hears impairment cases, normally in private. You may attend alone or with a legal representative, and the Registrar's legal team must prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt.
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Undertakings under section 46
During an inquiry the committee may ask you to undertake not to repeat the conduct, to undertake to attend specified educational courses, training or other means of improving your competence, to consent to medical treatment, or to consent to being admonished or censured. If an undertaking is accepted, the inquiry ends and no further evidence is called.
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Council sanction, appeal and confirmation
If allegations are found, the committee reports to Council, and you or your representative may attend and make representations on sanction. Under section 48, Council may admonish or censure, attach conditions, suspend for a set time, cancel registration, or forbid you from applying for restoration for a specified time. You may apply to the High Court within 30 days of notice of the decision, and sanctions other than admonishment or censure need High Court confirmation.
What the PSI Council looks for on sanction
The PSI's Guide to Sanctioning sets out the principles Council applies. These are the points most relevant to remediation.
Proportionality and leniency
Council must have regard to proportionality and afford the registrant as much leniency as possible in the circumstances, while ensuring the public interest is protected. Sanctions exist to protect the public and to maintain confidence in the pharmacy profession, not to punish. Evidence that the risk has been addressed helps Council see that a lesser sanction is enough.
Insight and timely remediation
The guide treats insight and remediation as mitigating: accepting you should have behaved differently, taking timely steps to remediate, and apologising early. A lack of insight is listed as aggravating. Your reflection should show you understand the risk to patients, not only regret about the complaint.
Keeping up to date
Evidence of keeping up to date and working only within your area of competence is listed as relevant. A well-kept ePortfolio with CPD cycles linked to the concern shows sustained effort rather than activity timed for a hearing.
Dishonesty is treated seriously
The guide lists dishonesty as an aggravating factor and states that it undermines trust in the profession even where no patient harm has occurred. Probity remediation needs particularly honest reflection on why the conduct happened and what has changed.
Relevant testimonials
Testimonials are considered for whether they are relevant to the specific findings. References from a superintendent, supervising pharmacist or colleague who knows about the complaint and has seen your practice since carry far more weight than general character references.
Recommended PSI remediation courses
All 41Each course is self-paced and online. You get scenario-based questions with an 80% pass mark, reflection prompts and a certificate of completion showing your name, the course title and the estimated learning time.
Remediation for Fitness to Practise
Designing, Evidencing, and Sustaining Individualised Remediation in Irish Healthcare
Professionalism and Professional Standards for Pharmacists
Applying the PSI Code of Conduct, Competence and Accountability in Irish Pharmacy Practice
Ethics and Ethical Standards for Pharmacists
Applying the PSI Code of Conduct and Its Seven Principles in Irish Pharmacy Practice
Medication Safety and Error Prevention
Preventing medication error and responding safely when it occurs
Controlled Drugs: Safe Prescribing and Dispensing
Legally compliant, professional prescribing and dispensing of controlled drugs in Ireland
Insight for Fitness to Practise
Understanding Conduct, Impact, and Change in Irish Healthcare Practice
Reflection for Fitness to Practise
Developing Genuine Reflective Practice, Insight, and Evidence of Learning in Irish Healthcare
PSI ePortfolio: Evidence, Reflection and Review
Building an outcomes-focused, review-ready pharmacist CPD ePortfolio
Ensuring No Repeat of Misconduct or Mistake in Future Practice
Reducing the Risk of Recurrence and Demonstrating Sustainable Improvement in Irish Healthcare
Building your PSI remediation evidence
Gather evidence for your observations to the Preliminary Proceedings Committee, any Committee of Inquiry and any representations to Council on sanction.
What to put in your bundle
- The principles of the PSI Code of Conduct 2019 engaged by the complaint, identified clearly.
- Certificates for courses that match the concern, with dates, titles and CPD hours.
- A reflective statement in your own words linking the learning to the specific complaint.
- CPD cycles in your IIOP ePortfolio recording the learning need, the action and the evaluation.
- Updated SOPs, checklists or checking procedures you now follow, with dates.
- Your error log and any audits of dispensing or controlled drug records since the concern arose.
- Testimonials from a superintendent, supervising pharmacist or colleague who knows about the complaint.
- Evidence of any supervision or mentoring you have arranged in the area of concern.
- Where appropriate and agreed with your adviser, evidence of an early apology to the patient.
Writing your reflection
- Name the Code of Conduct principle you fell short of and the standard you should have met.
- Describe the actual or potential effect on the patient and on trust in pharmacy.
- Explain how and why it happened, including system factors, without shifting responsibility.
- Give specific, dated examples of how your practice has changed.
- Write it yourself; a templated reflection undermines the insight it is meant to show.
When to start remediation
Start when you first learn of the complaint. The Guide to Sanctioning refers to taking timely steps to remediate and apologising at an early stage, and your observations are usually due within 14 days of the PSI's letter. Early, relevant learning, recorded in your ePortfolio, is far more convincing than courses completed the month before an inquiry. The PSI aims to conclude the process within two years, which is a long time to show sustained change.
If a Committee of Inquiry asks for a section 46 undertaking to attend education or training, or if conditions are attached to your registration, you will need to complete and evidence that learning. Failing to comply with an undertaking or conditions is itself a ground of complaint, so plan for learning you can finish and document properly.
Section 46 undertakings and the role of training
Section 46 gives a Committee of Inquiry the option of asking you to undertake not to repeat the conduct, to attend specified educational courses, training or other means of improving your competence, to consent to medical treatment, or to consent to admonishment or censure. If the undertaking is accepted, the inquiry ends. Where conditions are attached after an inquiry, the PSI's published examples include further training in specified areas, evidence of ongoing CPD, supervision and mentoring.
That makes structured, evidenced learning directly relevant to PSI outcomes. But an undertaking is a serious commitment, and breaking it is a ground of complaint. Take advice from your indemnity provider, the Irish Pharmacy Union or a solicitor before agreeing to anything. The PSI also points pharmacists to the Practitioner Health Matters Programme for confidential support.
What our courses are, and are not
Our courses are online, self-paced CPD with gated lessons, scenario-based questions with an 80% pass mark, a reflective element and a certificate of completion showing your name, the course title and the estimated learning time. The reflection helps you write ePortfolio CPD cycles and a reflective statement.
They are education, not affiliated with or endorsed by the PSI or the IIOP, and they cannot guarantee any outcome. They are one part of the evidence you and your adviser may choose to put forward.
Common mistakes pharmacists make
- Replying to the PSI without first speaking to an indemnifier, the IPU or a solicitor.
- Treating the complaint as a pharmacy systems issue and not reflecting on personal responsibility.
- Choosing generic courses that do not match the principle of the Code engaged.
- Giving a section 46 undertaking without being clear what it requires or how to evidence it.
- Forgetting to declare the complaint on the annual PSI continued registration form.
- Letting ePortfolio engagement lapse while the complaint is ongoing.
Core course
Remediation for Fitness to Practise
Our core remediation course: 4 hours estimated learning time and 30 scenario questions on planning, evidencing and sustaining remediation, with a certificate when you pass.
PSI remediation: common questions
Will a course guarantee a good outcome?
No. Outcomes depend on the facts, the findings and Council's assessment of the public interest. The Guide to Sanctioning treats timely remediation and insight as mitigating, but they are only part of the picture.
Can I keep working during a PSI complaint?
Yes, in most cases. The PSI says your registration status does not change when a complaint is received unless the High Court orders an interim suspension under section 45. You must declare the complaint on your annual continued registration form.
What is a section 46 undertaking?
It is an option during an inquiry. The committee may ask you to undertake not to repeat the conduct, to attend specified education or training, to consent to medical treatment, or to consent to admonishment or censure. If it is accepted, the inquiry ends and no further evidence is called.
Are PSI inquiries public?
Professional Conduct Committee inquiries are normally held in public and Health Committee inquiries normally in private. The PSI must publish notice of all sanctions except admonishment or censure.
Can I appeal a PSI sanction?
Yes. You may apply to the High Court to cancel a sanction within 30 days of receiving notice of Council's decision. Sanctions other than admonishment or censure also require High Court confirmation before they take effect.
Can I record these courses in my IIOP ePortfolio?
Yes, you can record any relevant learning as a CPD cycle in your ePortfolio. The PSI model is portfolio-based and self-reflective, not points-based, so what counts is how you identify the learning need, act on it and evaluate its effect on your practice.
Can I remove myself from the register to end the complaint?
No. The PSI states that it cannot accept an application to voluntarily remove your name from the register while you are the subject of an ongoing complaint.
Official sources
This page was checked against Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland guidance in October 2026. Processes and guidance change, so always confirm the current position with the regulator and your adviser. This page is general information, not legal advice.
- PSI: Guide for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Owners on the Complaints Process
- PSI: Guide for Pharmacists on the Inquiry Process
- PSI: Guide to Sanctioning
- PSI: Conditions that may be imposed following disciplinary inquiry
- PSI: What happens after a complaint is made
- PSI: Learning from Inquiries
- PSI: Code of Conduct
- PSI: ePortfolio Review Process