Pharmacists' Advice and Support Service

Public benefits

The Pharmacists' Advice and Support Service (PASS) meet the Public Benefit Requirement in two ways through: 1. The Prevention or relief of poverty; and 2. The relief of those in need (by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage). PASS meets these purposes through the provision of information,

counselling and short to medium term financial support in the form of grants and interest free loans. The direct benefits which flow from this purpose include improved outcomes for those experiencing personal, professional or financial difficulty through the alleviation of some of the financial difficulties that the beneficiary is facing and also the ability to make better informed decisions after receiving counselling and advice. These benefits are demonstrated through ongoing feedback from beneficiaries, and in the form of a survey conducted annually. We do not identify any harm as a result of the Charity carrying out it's purpose. The beneficiaries for these purposes are: a) members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (the ‘Society’); or b) persons who at any time have been members of the Society or have been registered as either pharmaceutical chemists, or chemists and druggists, or druggists or apprentices to pharmaceutical chemists, or as students of the Society; or c) surviving spouses, surviving civil partners, orphans or dependents of deceased persons who were at any time members of the Society or registered as aforesaid. The ‘poverty exception’ applies in this case as the relief of poverty is regarded as being for the public benefit even when there is a restricted group of beneficiaries There is no private benefit flowing from this purpose.

What your organisation does

The services available to qualifying beneficiaries include a freephone information and signposting service, face to face and telephone counselling and short to medium term financial support in the form of grants and interest free loans.