Register
Every designated body in Scotland needs to appoint a Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer. This is done under Controlled Drugs Regulations 2013. We must be notified of the details of the person nominated to take on this role.
Applications and amendments
Organisations must inform us of any changes to their CDAO arrangements.
View the guidance and forms to register applications and amendments
Exemptions
We manage the CDAO exemption process. An exemption allows healthcare providers to be exempt from appointing a CDAO. To apply for an exemption, providers must meet the specified criteria.
Self declaration and assessment
We work with healthcare organisations on their controlled drugs governance arrangements.
We need designated healthcare organisations with Controlled Drug Accountable Officers (CDAOs) to:
- confirm their CDAO arrangements on an annual basis
- complete a self declaration and assessment questionnaire every three years
We are committed to promoting a joint working approach. We work with other regulatory and inspection bodies. These include:
- the Care Quality Commission
- Scottish Government
- the Care Inspectorate
- the Controlled Drugs Accountable Officers Network in Scotland
Read our most recent Self declaration and assessment of controlled drugs governance arrangements.
Controlled drugs quarterly occurrence reports
Independent healthcare organisations are required to inform us of incidents involving controlled drugs.
We create controlled drug quarterly occurrence reports. We share these with the CDAOs of the NHS Board in which the independent healthcare organisation is located.