Duncan Rudkin, the CEO of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhc) has highlighted the importance of strengthening pharmacy governance to provide clarity
around how pharmacies are organised and managed.
This will ensure that patients and the public continue to receive safe and effective pharmacy care, he said while speaking at the annual Sigma Conference in
London on Sunday (5 November).
According to him, there could be rules that outlined the essential roles and responsibilities of responsible pharmacists, and professional standards for
responsible pharmacists, superintended pharmacists and chief pharmacists.
He also announced that the GPhC will be shortly launching a consultation to integrate a new set of standards for the statutory role of hospital chief
pharmacists "which up until recently has never been recognised in law." It is expected to be launched by early January 2024.
However, Duncan, emphasised that they cannot start the work on standards for responsible and superintendent pharmacists until they know the government plans
in relation to supervision.
"Because of course, the responsible pharmacists' regime, and the supervision regime are in many ways intertwined, and can't certainly be looked at separately.
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.
A total of 525 candidates have passed the common registration assessment for pharmacists held in November, the regulators GPhC and PSNI have announced on
Tuesday.
With 937 candidates sitting for the registration assessment, held jointly by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern
Ireland (PSNI) on 3 November, the pass rate was 56 per cent, down from the 61 per cent for the Autumn 2021.
Among the GPhC candidates, 59 per cent were sitting for the first time, 30 per cent for the second time and 8 per cent for the third time. (The break-up was not
available for the 3 per cent PSNI candidates.)
In comparison, for the June sitting 89 per cent of candidates were sitting for the first time, 7 per cent were sitting for the second time and 4 per cent were
sitting for the third time.
"We would like to congratulate the successful candidates and we look forward to them joining our register and continuing to the next stage of their career,"
Duncan Rudkin, GPhC chief executive said.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has proposed a 7.5 per cent increase in all fees for pharmacies, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and foundation
trainees, including those for registration and renewal from April 2024.
According to the GPhC's proposal the pharmacist renewal fee would increase by £19 from £257 to £276; the pharmacy technician renewal fee would increase by £9 from
£121 to £130 and the pharmacy premises renewal fee would increase by £27 from £365 to £392
Any changes would be effective from April 2024, which means fees will remain at current levels for this financial year, giving registrants and applicants time to
prepare for any increase in subsequent years.
Fees have been frozen for the last two years (2022 and 2023) to help reduce pressure on both pharmacy professionals and pharmacy owners.
Chief Executive, Duncan Rudkin, said: "In the last few years, we have been able to avoid raising many of these fees by improving our efficiency and by using our
financial reserves to cover any gap between our income and our outgoings. While we are continuing to look for ways to make savings, we now have to consider
increasing fees.
The General Pharmaceutical Council has apologised for severe delays and disruptions during the June foundation registration assessment at five test centres in
England on Wednesday (June 29).
The pharmacy regulator said it has since "contacted the candidates affected via email to apologise for the disruption and the extra worry this will have caused.
"We will also be issuing our usual survey for all candidates so we can hear directly from them about their experiences and have also asked candidates to get in touch
if they would like individual advice."
GPhC admitted that the worse sufferers were the candidates at a test centre in Nottingham "where the delay was severe and candidates were only able to start Paper 1
in the late afternoon".
Extremely sorry
In a statement, Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPhC, said: "We are extremely sorry for the severe delays experienced by candidates in Nottingham today. This
is completely unacceptable, and we fully appreciate the significant stress and disruption this must have caused for them in such a high-stakes assessment.
The result of the common registration assessment for pharmacists, held jointly by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Pharmaceutical Society of
Northern Ireland (PSNI), have been published with an overall pass rate of 80 per cent.
A total of 2,697 candidates sat the registration assessment in four countries on 29 June and 2,147 candidates passed the assessment.
This summer's pass rate has fallen to 80 per cent compared with the 82 per cent pass rate for the summer 2021 registration assessment, and the 61 per cent pass rate
for the Autumn 2021 registration assessment.
GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin said: "We would like to congratulate the successful candidates and we look forward to them joining our register and continuing to
the next stage of their career.
"However, we appreciate that the June registration assessment was a difficult and stressful experience for many - and we are extremely sorry about the problems
faced by a number of candidates on the day.
"For those who did not pass, there is a guide on our website [PDF 255 KB] outlining all the options that may be available, such as provisional registration and
the right to appeal. There are also links to organisations and resources that can provide support with mental health and wellbeing.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has decided to increase the renewal fees of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy premises
by 7.5% from April 2024.
The pharmacy technician's renewal fee will see an increase by £9 from £121 to £130, pharmacists fees from £257 to £276, and pharmacy premises from £365 to £392.
The following decision came even despite the renewal fees being frozen for individual registrants since 2019 and for pharmacy premises since 2021.
This move was facilitated through cost savings measures like using financial reserves and downsizing to a smaller office.
However, the council confirmed that the fee hike is due to higher rates of inflation, increase in utility bills and supplier costs.
Duncan Rudkin, Chief Executive and Registrar of the GPhC, said: "We know that these are challenging times and that this increase will come as unwelcome
news to those we regulate. But to be effective in our role of protecting the public we need to make sure the fees we charge cover the cost of regulation
going forward."
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 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) and the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England have written a letter to pharmacy professionals thanking them for
providing the best possible services to patients and the public, despite experiencing high and sustained demands and pressures.
GPhC Chief Executive Duncan Rudkin and CPhO David Webb indicated that there will be further challenges over the coming weeks and months due to the ongoing industrial
action, and staff shortages due to sickness or caring responsibilities.
They expressed concerned that increased pressure will have a significant and potentially prolonged impact on pharmacy teams both personally and professionally.
Acknowledging that pharmacy professionals may have to make some difficult decisions as they deal with the pressures they face, the leaders have urged those working
in pharmacy to use "your professional judgement to assess and mitigate risk, and to deliver safe and effective care for your patients within your scope of practice."
NHS England's decision to forgo commissioning puberty suppressing hormones (PSH) for children and young people, citing insufficient evidence of their safety
and clinical effectiveness, follows a comprehensive review conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2020.
The clinical report underscores that "PSH treatment options will not be part of routine commissioning" for people under the age of 18 in England grappling with
gender incongruence or dysphoria.
The NHS England review analysed nine observational studies on Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone Analogues (GnRHa) and found no statistically significant difference
in gender dysphoria, mental health, body image, and psychosocial functioning among children and adolescents treated with GnRHa.
Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), acknowledged the challenges faced by pharmacy professionals regarding prescriptions
for puberty suppressing hormones, stating:
In a recent minute of meeting, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) explored the implications of its unique authority under the Regulation of
Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), granting powers for covert surveillance.
Although never utilized, the GPhC is obligated to maintain appropriate policies for such actions.
During a recent meeting, the pharmacy regulator discussed that the use of RIPA be brought to a future Council workshop to discuss issues including the "ethical
implications of having and using the powers, the possible use of RIPA in online pharmacy investigations and retaining the powers to deal with future scenarios as
yet unknown".
Led by Chief Executive and Registrar, Duncan Rudkin, the discussion underscored the importance of having robust oversight mechanisms in place.
The inspection report provided assurance that the GPhC's policies align with regulatory requirements.