Welsh language

Pharmacy guide

This guide will support you in understanding Welsh language legislative requirements for all sectors of pharmacy in Wales and will help you in practice should you be presented with a Welsh language prescription, wish to prescribe in Welsh or wish to promote the Welsh language in your workplace.

^{Updated: 29 April 2025}

VIEW THIS GUIDE IN WELSH

Welsh language standards

The Welsh language standards promote and facilitate the Welsh language.  

Bilingualism is an integral feature of Welsh life, and a Welsh language or bilingual service is vital for the welfare of Welsh speaking patients. 

Legislation (Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011) reinforces the principle that the Welsh language should not be treated less favourably than the English language in Wales. A Welsh language service should be offered when appropriate and practicable able to do so, for example, in community pharmacies, hospitals, care homes and GP practices.  

Who do these standards apply to?

These standards apply to:

• All NHS organisations in Wales 
• Employees of NHS organisations in Wales
• All pharmacy settings employed by NHS Wales
• All pharmacy organisations including (but not limited to), the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), Welsh NHS health boards and NHS contractors.

Using Welsh within your organisation

All NHS organisations in Wales must:

• Offer all general correspondence, signage, website and social media bilingually
• Ensure that telephone and face-to-face services are available bilingually
• Ensure that there are no delays from inquiries, complaints or job applications in Welsh.
• Be pro-active in using Welsh and promoting Welsh across your service.

Community pharmacy requirements

Community pharmacies have specific legislative requirements in their duty as contractors delivering services on behalf of the NHS. There are six requirements that fall onto all Welsh contractors: 

1. If the contractor or any pharmacist who regularly works in the pharmacy can provide pharmacy services in Welsh, you should notify your local health board in writing. A template is available on the Community Pharmacy Wales website
2. Community pharmacies must make available a Welsh language version of any document or form for use by patients and/or members of the public, provided by the local health board
3. Where an NHS pharmacist and/or their contractor displays a new sign or notice in connection with pharmaceutical services, the text on the sign or notice must be in English and Welsh, you may utilise the translation service offered by the local health board for this purpose
4. An NHS pharmacist and their contractor must encourage the wearing of a badge, provided by the local health board for free, by those delivering pharmaceutical services who are Welsh speaking, to convey that they are able to speak Welsh
5. An NHS pharmacist and their contractor must encourage those delivering pharmaceutical services to utilise information and/or attend training courses to increase their awareness of the Welsh language and understand how the Welsh language can be used in connection with the pharmaceutical services provided
6. An NHS pharmacist and their contractor must encourage those delivering pharmaceutical services to establish and record the language preference expressed by or on behalf of a patient.

Community Pharmacy Wales has resources on their website to support contractors in ensuring they meet the Welsh Language requirements.

Writing prescriptions in Welsh

A prescription written solely in Welsh is legally valid if all other legal requirements are fulfilled, however there may be a time delay to the patient if a translation is needed. 

If you wish to prescribe in Welsh and you think that a time delay could put your patient at risk, we recommend that you ensure that your prescription is fully bilingual or written in English. The RPS' A Competency Framework for all Prescribers has more details on prescribing.

Dispensing prescriptions written in Welsh 

As stated earlier a prescription written solely in Welsh is legally valid if all other legal requirements are fulfilled. A Welsh language prescription should not be rejected solely based on language barriers. 

The MEP sets out the requirements to ensure a prescription is legally valid. 

You should also be satisfied the prescription is clinically suitable for the person requesting it. Check dose, age, contraindications and cautions. Use our clinical checks pharmacy guide for further help with this. All necessary clinical checks must be carried out on any prescription, irrespective of the language in which it is written, and the pharmacist must be satisfied the medicine is clinically appropriate for the patient. Further guidance can be found in the RPS clinical checks pharmacy guide.

Translation 

If there are no fluent Welsh language speakers within your pharmacy team, or you are not confident with a translation, please contact your local health board’s Welsh Language Officer who will be able to assist you in translating documents and prescriptions written in Welsh. Your Welsh Language Officer can also help you use and promote Welsh in your workplace.

You can find contact details for your Welsh Language officer on your local health boards website.

We recommend using the formalised routes for translation services through your local health board, although, other informal routes of translating a prescription are available, e.g., web-based translation services, these services increase the risk of mistranslation and liability on the user.

Labelling

Requirement 266(7) for packaging and package leaflets relating to medicinal products in The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 states that ‘information given in English in accordance with this regulation may be given in several languages in addition to English, provided that the same particulars appear in all the languages used.’ To comply with these legal requirements, pharmacists should label medicines in English or bilingually to ensure that if a patient is seen by a non-Welsh speaker, these instructions are understood.

Use of BNF Cautionary and advisory labels

As of the 71st edition of the BNF, Welsh translations for each cautionary and advisory labels are available in Appendix 3 of the BNF. These cautions and advisory labels must be bi-lingual, in both Welsh and English, when dispensing a prescription.

Reimbursement of a Welsh language prescription

Welsh language prescriptions will be reimbursed through your usual reimbursement procedures and should be submitted in the normal manner.

Welsh language prescriptions outside of Wales

If you receive a Welsh language prescription in England or Scotland, please follow the above guidance and implement local procedures on cross-country prescription requirements. 

Your local health board or integrated care board translation service may offer free translation services for you. 

For information on EEA and Swiss prescriptions please see our guide on prescriptions issued in the EEA and Switzerland.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

It is the responsibility of pharmacy teams to provide a proactive language offer so that patients can access care as equal partners through the medium of Welsh.

Patients must be always treated with courtesy and pharmacists and pharmacy technicians must adhere to the standards of conduct, ethics and performance set out by the GPhC. If Welsh is the language of choice for your patient, this must be respected and every effort made to support the patient, make them feel fully included in decisions about their health, ensure they understand the provision of medical advice offered and to ensure there is no potential inequity of access to such information.

We recommend that Welsh speakers in your department are actively visible in line with the More than Just Words initiative. This can be done through wearing Iaith Gwaith lanyards or badges available for free through your Welsh Language Officers. The Welsh Language Commissioner website also includes electronic materials including posters and email signatures for use. 

See our inclusion and diversity page for more information.