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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 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 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.

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.

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.

In a recent announcement the government has mandated frontline NHS staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19, keeping people working in community pharmacies out of this purview. In its response to the announcement, General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has urged "pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to get Covid-19 and flu vaccinations at the earliest opportunity, unless they are medically exempt." GPhC, which regulates pharmacists and other staff in community pharmacies, said that vaccinated healthcare workers can better protect their family, colleagues and patients. During the government consultation on making Covid-19 jab a condition of deployment for frontline health and care workers in England, GPhC had said: "Getting vaccinated is clearly something that should be done by all pharmacy professionals, although we do not support making vaccination a mandatory legal requirement."

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.

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."

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Fitness to Practise Committee has removed a pharmacy technician from Register after been found guilty of possessing 'indecent photographs of a child'. Graeme Arthur, a pharmacy technician first registered with GPhC on 1 September 2019, under the registration number 5039154, was found guilty at Peterlee Magistrate's Court in August 2022. He received an 18-month Community Order, and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 5 years, He was also ordered to undertake a period of rehabilitation activity for 40 days. In the remote video linking hearing held on 2 - 3 May, the Fitness to Practise Committee found Arthur's fitness to practise to be currently impaired on grounds of protection of the public and in the wider public interest of declaring and upholding the Standards of the profession and maintaining public confidence in the reputation of the profession. The committee considers this to be a serious conviction for an offence which has included possession of the most serious category of images of sexual abuse of children. It said: "Although Mr Arthur had no direct contact with the children concerned, the nature of the abuse is that it thrives on the demand from those who search for and view the images online. As such, children come to actual harm indirectly through the activity of someone viewing and possession of images of sexual abuse."

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 (GPhC) recently issued a public apology after they mistakenly referred to pharmacy technicians as 'pharmacist technicians' in a council paper. It has also written a letter of apology to the President of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians (APTUK) for the error they made. Meanwhile, the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has raised concern about an equally worrying trend in which pharmacists are being referred to by the GPhC and others as 'pharmacy professionals', a term that is also used for pharmacy technicians. The association said this creates confusion in the minds of the public about the two roles and responsibilities, which are very different, as well as have impact upon the workplace.