The General Pharmaceutical Council is appointing a new Chief Pharmacy Officer to strengthen the professional voice within the senior leadership team. This
introduction is aimed at fostering a culture of enterprise leadership, inclusion and collaboration within the organisation, GPhC said in a statement.
According to GPhC, the Chief Pharmacy Officer will serve as the authoritative representative of the pharmacy regulator in public, within the pharmacy professions,
and increasingly in multi-disciplinary teams and collaborative regulatory work. "They will act as the executive lead on pharmacy inspection and regulatory insight,
providing professional leadership within the GPhC and collaborating closely with pharmacist and pharmacy technician colleagues across the organisation."
The Chief Pharmacy Officer, reporting to the Chief Executive and Registrar, will hold the highest professional position within the GPhC executive, providing pharmacy
leadership across the organisation, GPhC said.
The General Pharmaceutical Council is in the process of appointing five new council members within the next two years, coinciding with the conclusion of the
current members' terms. The regulator aims to recruit five individuals from diverse professional and personal backgrounds for its governing council, the GPhC has
said.
"We are seeking three members to join us in April 2024 and two in April 2025," said GPhC in its job advertisement brief. "For the 2024 intake, two of the
new council members must be lay members of the public, while one must be a Saxton . Moreover, at least one out of the three must primarily reside or work wholly
or mostly in Wales. As for the new members commencing in 2025, one must be a lay member, and the other must be a registrant member."
The members will be initially appointed for a three-year term, with the option to extend their position for a maximum of eight years, GPhC added.
The council, which serves as the regulator's governing body, currently comprises 14 members. Half of the council consists of lay members, who bolster public
confidence and infuse novel viewpoints into the GPhC, as highlighted by the regulator.
"This council will play a pivotal role in shaping the regulatory body's future strategic goals," the regulator added. "These members must contribute positively
to patients and society, ensuring the benefits of secure and efficient pharmacy care."
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) will launch a new group focusing on improvement of the post-registration practice of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
The announcement follows GPhC and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) bringing together key stakeholders from across England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland on Thursday (January 27) to discuss establishment of the group.
The GPhC considered recommendations from a short-life working group chaired by Council member Aamer Safdar on the potential leadership and quality assurance role of the GPhC in post-registration education and training for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
Nigel Clarke, chair of the GPhC noted that there is a wide range of activity in the post-registration sphere with government and statutory education providers taking steps to make improvement.
The pharmacy regulator can hold hearings and meetings either remotely or in-person in future as the Council of the GPhC has agreed to a change in its rules.
The rules are expected to come into force on 1 October 2022. Until the rules and new policy and guidance come into force, the GPhC will continue to only hold
remote hearings with the consent of the person concerned and/or their legal representative.
Following positive feedback from those taking part in remote hearings, the GPhC consulted on a proposed permanent change to its rules so it could continue to hold
hearings remotely in the future, when it is fair and appropriate to do so.
The proposal to continue remote hearings, including fitness to practise hearings, received wide support with 78 per cent of respondents agreeing.
"During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and restrictions we had to hold many meetings and hearings remotely by videolink. As such we were granted - along with other regulators - a temporary provision to enable us to do this and carry out our statutory role," Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPHC, said.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) temporary register which was expected to close on 30 September 2022 will continue for the next two years following a
request from the secretary of state for health and social care.
The temporary register was set up in 2020 after the then secretary of state asked the GPhC to use its emergency powers in order to rapidly register pharmacy
professionals to assist in the national response to the Covid-19 emergency.
The UK government has made this decision, which is referenced in its new 'Plan for Patients' in England to enable health professionals on the temporary registers to
continue to support the health and social care system.
The Government had previously announced that the temporary registers established by the health professional regulators were expected to close on 30 September 2022.
The decision by the UK government to ask the regulators to keep the temporary registers means that pharmacy professionals on GPhC temporary register can continue to
practise.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has launched a consultation on whether people agree or disagree that its hearings should continue to be held remotely when it is fair and practical to do so.
The 12-week consultation - which ends on February 8 - seeks views on a proposed permanent change to the GPhC's procedural rules which will allow it to conduct
hearings and meetings by teleconference or videolink.
The pharmacy regulator is seeking changes to enable it to continue to hold some hearings remotely in the future following positive feedback from those taking part
in hearings during the Covid-19 pandemic which the GPhC held remotely by videolink.
"In cases where the GPhC investigates a concern about a pharmacist or pharmacy technician and decides there is evidence to show that their fitness to practise may
be impaired, the case may need to be referred for a hearing before a committee," GPhC said in a statement today (November 16).
The Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) has urged the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) to collate the data on actively enrolled on an
approved course or qualification for Pharmacy Technicians of commencement of training.
In a letter from Nicola Stockmann, Vice President APTUK to the GPhC to encourage the collection of data for Pre-Registration Training Pharmacy Technicians,
Stockmann said: "We value the GPHC data for Pharmacy Technician registrants to track the growth and diversity of the Pharmacy Technician profession.
With ongoing inclusive pharmacy practice priorities, APTUK has an organisational pledge to continue this work of all themes through actions. The demographics
of the Pharmacy Technician workforce continue to have a majority of white British registrants and identifying as female; the high-level data collated which is
currently available on the GPHC website does not capture those who are actively enrolled on an approved course or qualification for Pharmacy Technicians."
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has revealed it has received 25 whistleblowing disclosures between April 2021 and March 2022.
The pharmacy regulator said, in its annual report, that it has concluded enquiries on 22 disclosures so far with a further three still under review.
"We also concluded two qualifying disclosures that were raised during the previous reporting period," it said, adding: "The action GPhC took included a full
investigation through established fitness to practise processes and follow-up action through its inspection network.
"The former can result in any available outcome throughout the fitness to practise process. The latter can include guidance, a follow-up visit or an unexpected
inspection."
12 concerns were investigated and concluded with no further action. Three were signposted to another organisation. The remaining seven cases were concluded by
sharing information with inspection colleagues for follow up action.
Of the two concerns from the previous reporting period, one was concluded with no further action and the other remains under investigation.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has initiated the evaluation of its five-year strategy for changing the way it manage concerns about pharmacy
professionals. It has urged people to share their experience of fitness to practice.
The evaluation will look at how the strategy has improved the experience of people involved in fitness to practice (those who raise concerns, professionals,
witnesses etc.); impacted the culture amongst pharmacy professionals and their attitudes to openness and honesty; improved the process and made it fairer and
changed perceptions of fitness to practice.
The first phase of the evaluation process will take place from July to September 2023.
The council said: "We are committed to making our ambitions a reality for the benefit of everyone involved and your contribution will help us to make sure patients
and the public continue to be protected while being fair to pharmacy professionals."
In June 2021, GPhC published its five-year strategy- Managing concerns about pharmacy professionals: Guided by its 2030 vision and commitment to equality, diversity
and inclusion, the strategy outlines a programme for change.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has appointed a new provider, BTL Group Ltd, to conduct its common registration assessment sittings, which it holds jointly with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
GPhC chief executive, Duncan Rudkin, said: "I'm pleased to confirm that we have appointed BTL as the supplier for the common registration assessment for the next
3 years after a thorough tender process.
"The information provided by BTL during the tender process has given us the necessary assurance that they can support us in continuing to deliver a fair and robust
assessment that tests candidates' ability to register as a pharmacist. We will now work closely with BTL on arrangements for the sittings in 2022, to make sure we can provide a positive experience for candidates."
BTL has extensive experience of delivering services to a range of clients, including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Ophthalmology.
Before BTL, GPhC had a contract with Pearson Vue to conduct online assessment in 2021.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) recently appointed a chief pharmacy officer and a chief enforcement officer on 26 October.
Roz Gittins will be joining as chief pharmacy officer and deputy registrar whereas Dionne Spence as chief enforcement officer and deputy registrar from 3 January.
The regulator confirmed that the new officers will "form the new executive structure of the GPhC".
They will be working with the existing staff members Mark Voce, in his new role, is the chief strategy officer and deputy registrar and Jonathan Bennetts,
will be the chief operating officer & deputy registrar.
It is stated that Gittins is to serve as "the most senior member of the profession," offering pharmacy leadership throughout the GPhC.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) today decided to convene a new group, involving all the key stakeholders, focused on assurance of practice post-registration.
The decision in today's (9 December) council meeting follows the recommendation of a working group chaired by council member and pharmacist Aamer Safdar on the role of the regulator in post-registration education and training.
The new group will be tasked with articulating a set of guiding principles where patient safety is the overarching priority, after carrying out a horizon scanning exercise to pull together an understanding of the system wide approach currently in place.
The working group noted that the wider approach, in relation to regulation of post-registration practice and not simply education and training, may require the GPhC reviewing and developing its own control measures, and involving patients and the public in the next stages of work.
Reviewing the work on online pharmacy services, the council meeting supported the regulator's plans to continue to require pharmacy websites to be arranged so that a person cannot choose a prescription only medicine and its quantity before there has been an appropriate consultation with a prescriber.
Pharmacists on the temporary register will be automatically removed on April 1, unless they have applied to rejoin the permanent register, the General
Pharmaceutical Council has said.
The government asked the GPhC and other pertinent health professional regulators to close temporary registers by March 31, 2024.
According to the GPhC, this decision is based on the anticipation that the emergency conditions justifying the establishment of these temporary registers will
cease after the approaching winter.
The temporary register was established after the Health and Social Care Secretary asked the Council to utilise its emergency powers to swiftly register pharmacy
professionals for their essential role in the national COVID-19 response.
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who had previously opted to withdraw from the GPhC register or failed to renew their registration are now eligible for
immediate re-registration, the regulator added.
New legislative orders approved by the Privy Council will give the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
powers to set professional standards for Responsible Pharmacists, Superintendent Pharmacists and Chief Pharmacists.
The Pharmacy (Preparation and Dispensing Errors - Hospital (and Other Pharmacy Services) Order 2022 and the Pharmacy (Responsible Pharmacists, Superintendent
Pharmacists etc.) Order 2022 have been published and are expected to come into force in December 2022.
Trevor Patterson, Chief Executive of the Pharmaceutical Society NI said: "We have been working with our colleagues in the GPhC and Government for some time on these
two pieces of important legislation and we are delighted they have now reached the statute books.
"Both Orders enable and enhance the powers we, and the GPhC, have to define the roles and responsibilities of Responsible, Superintendent and Chief Pharmacists,
respectively. They also create protections against criminal prosecution for hospital pharmacists where an inadvertent error is made either in dispensing or assembly,
in certain defined circumstances, similar to the protections available to colleagues working in community/registered pharmacy settings. Provisions that allow the
appointment of a Deputy Registrar for our organisation will also be introduced.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has published the results of the common registration assessment for aspiring pharmacists held on 2 November, 2023.
An overall pass rate of 66 per cent was recorded this year, as compared to 56 per cent in 2022 and 61 per cent in 2021.
A total of 1,067 candidates took the registration assessment, held jointly by the GPhC and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI), of which
700 candidates cleared the assessment
In 2022, 937 candidates sat the registration assessment of which 525 passed the assessment.
Commenting on the results, GPhC Director of Education and Standards, Mark Voce, said: "I would like to congratulate all those who passed the November
registration assessment and I look forward to them joining our register to continue to the next stage of their career.
"There will be candidates who unfortunately did not pass the assessment. If this is the case, the information on our website outlines all the possible
options of what to do next.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has launched a consultation on changes to the quality assurance processes of pharmacy education and training.
In its consultation published on 4 April 2024, the pharmacy regulator has proposed four key changes to the procedures, including annual monitoring of all
pharmacy education providers, including pharmacy schools offering MPharm courses.
The annual audit will enable the GPhC "to identify and address concerns together with providers in a more timely, proportionate and systematic manner".
It is considering collecting yearly data, including feedback from students, trainees, supervisors and patients, from educational organisations.
The GPhC has also proposed defining clear lines of responsibility and criteria for determining whether to re-approve a course or qualification.
In response to stakeholder feedback, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is developing a streamlined, single route to registration that will replace
the current multiple-pathway system for overseas pharmacists wishing to practice in Great Britain.
This revised approach will include updated standards for the education and training of internationally qualified pharmacists, with all applicants still required
to pass a registration assessment.
The GPhC's Council intends to streamline the registration pathway, reducing the two-year process to one-year process.
This new pathway will encompass both university study and in-practice training.
Historically, pharmacists qualified within the European Economic Area (EEA) or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) have been eligible for qualification
recognition in Great Britain.
While this recognition has been extended until September 2028, the future requirement for EEA-qualified pharmacists to undergo the new registration route
remains contingent on forthcoming government decisions.
Initially, the GPhC had explored the development of three distinct registration routes for internationally-qualified pharmacists, "however decided to change
this proposed approach after considering feedback from stakeholders."
Gisela Abbam today (March 14) officially succeeded Nigel Clarke as new chair of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). She was appointed in mid-Feruary.
The council paid tribute to its outgoing chair for his major contribution to pharmacy regulation and his focus on patient safety for the past eight years on the role.
During his tenure Clarke has overseen significant changes to how the GPhC regulates pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacies to help drive improvements in
professional practice and protect patient safety.
Chief executive of the GPhC, Duncan Rudkin, said: "I would like to pay tribute to Nigel for everything he has done to support continuous improvement and assure the
quality and safety of pharmacy for the benefit of patients and the public.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is mulling over introducing "differentiated fees options to cover the increased regulation needed for online pharmacies."
In papers published by the regulator ahead of its meeting on Thursday (December 9), it noted that with increase in number of online and distance-selling pharmacies, the regulation has become "potentially more complex and resource intensive."
It highlighted that service provided by online pharmacies pose a high risk "in terms of professional care and professional standards".
Only 63 per cent of the 187 inspections of online pharmacies since April 2019, met all standards, against the overall benchmark of 84 per cent, the GPhC said.
The independent regulator informed that swift enforcement action has been taken against 48 online pharmacies to address patient safety risks, including 40 conditions notices and 11 improvement notices.
While thanking the provisionally registered pharmacists and their employers for supporting NHS services during the pandemic, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has asked the 63 eligible candidates to join the main register by January 31 to continue practicing.
A total number of 4,799 provisionally-registered pharmacists have been on the provisional register since it was introduced in July 2020 in response to the Covid-19
pandemic, which had affected the registration assessment schedule.
As of Tuesday (January 18), 237 were still on the provisional register, of which 84 have begun the process to join the main register, 90 did not sat an assessment, while 63 eligible candidates are yet to start their application.
The register enabled trainees who had completed their training to support NHS services and provide patient care effectively as provisionally-registered pharmacists,
while they waited to sit the registration assessment.
After providing three potential opportunities to trainees to sit the registration assessment - in March, July and November 2021, the provisional register will close
on January 31, 2022.