37.— (1) The Council may devise guidelines about resolving complaints by mediation.

(2) The guidelines may include provision about—

(a) determining, having regard to the public interest, whether a complaint might be satisfactorily resolved by mediation or warrants the holding of an inquiry,

(b) the persons who may mediate (“mediators”),

(c) the recording of the manner in which the complaint is resolved and of the agreement of the complainant and the registered pharmacist or pharmacy owner to the resolution,

(d) the steps to be taken (including notice to the complainant, the registered pharmacist or pharmacy owner and the preliminary proceedings committee) if the complaint cannot, in the opinion of the mediator, be resolved by mediation,

(e) any other matters that the Council considers necessary or appropriate for facilitating the resolution of a complaint by mediation.

(3) No attempt may be made to resolve a complaint by mediation without the consent of the complainant and the registered pharmacist or pharmacy owner.

(4) Consent given for the purposes of subsection (3) by a registered pharmacist or pharmacy owner shall not be taken as an admission of any allegation made by the complainant.

(5) The mediator shall report the terms of resolution of a complaint by mediation to the Council.

(6) Where the terms of resolution of a complaint consist of or include an outcome corresponding to one or more of the disciplinary sanctions set out in subsection (1)(b) of section 48, the Council may impose that or those sanctions as if under that section.

(7) No answer or statement made by the complainant or by the registered pharmacist or pharmacy owner in the course of mediation may be—

(a) communicated to any person other than those participating in the mediation, or

(b) used in any disciplinary, civil or criminal proceedings.

(8) The Council may revise any guidelines devised under this section.

(9) In this section, “mediation” includes other informal means of resolving complaints.