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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.

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.

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 removed a pharmacist from its register who black-marketed 'zolpidem' along with another pharmacist between 2015 and 2016. Dean Zainool Dookhan, a pharmacist first registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain on 18 October 2004 and whose registration was later transferred to the General Pharmaceutical Council under registration number 2059808, was jailed last year for exporting 20,000 packets of zolpidem to the Caribbean. While hearing the case on 24-25 May, GPhC's Fitness to Practise Committee stated that "removal of the Registrant's name from the register is the appropriate and proportionate response to his convictions." "The public interest includes protecting the public, maintaining public confidence in the profession, and maintaining proper standards of behaviour. The Committee is entitled to give greater weight to the public interest than the Registrant's own interest in remaining on the register." "The Committee recognises the sanction has a punitive effect in that the Registrant's ability to practise and earn an income as a pharmacist and 28 his professional reputation will be curtailed; it will be five years before he can seek restoration to the register. However, that is the price he must pay for failing to comply with the fundamental tenets of his profession."

The Department of Health and Social Care aims to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, thereby enabling pharmacy technicians to provide and administer specific medicines through a patient group direction. In line with this initiative, the Department introduced a six-week consultation to assess whether registered pharmacy technicians should be authorised to dispense medicines using a PGD. The proposals, backed by all four Home Nations, apply exclusively to registered pharmacy technicians. Meanwhile, this coverage will extend to include pharmacy technicians in Northern Ireland upon their achievement of registered professional status. "The proposed statutory instrument, presently applicable in England, Scotland, and Wales would offer 'clear benefits,' especially in areas such as vaccination and the provision of oral contraception and EHC," the DHSC said. According to the Department, facilitating registered pharmacy technicians to execute PGDs might amplify their workload, yet it could simultaneously enhance overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness for pharmacy teams by optimising the utilisation of skill diversity.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Fitness to Practise Committee decided to remove a pharmacist from the GPhC Register at a 'remote videolink' hearing held on 13 - 14 April. "The decision will not take effect until 12 May 2023 or, if an appeal is lodged, once that appeal has been concluded," the committee said. Kapil Ramesh Rabadia, a pharmacist first registered on 25 July 2011 with GPhC under registration number 2075823 was convicted of 'fraud by abuse of position' and 'being concerned in supplying controlled drugs' following a guilty plea on 13 September 2021. He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for the fraud by abuse of position and six months in respect of supplying a 3 Class B drug. However, the interim suspension set out in the decision takes effect immediately and will lapse when the removal decision takes effect or once any appeal is concluded. Between May 2018 and June 2019, Kapil ordered codeine linctus and Phenergan in excess of 100 bottles of each for four men who threatened him with knives and guns. The men told the pharmacist that he needed to continue to make the supplies or "there would be consequences" for him and his family.

A Nottingham-based pharmacist has been struck off the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register for bringing "the profession into to disrepute" by stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds in a bid to settle his gambling debt. Peter Sameh Saad (33) spun a web of lies and duped a friend out of more than half a million pounds to fund his addiction and pretended he had "serious if not terminal" testicular cancer. "It is difficult to imagine a more heinous fraud than one predicated on feigning a cancer diagnosis", a GPC panel ruled. Saad committed three frauds on a total of £536,689.95 between September 2018 and May 2019. First, he tricked a friend, whom he knew through his local church, into sending him around £288,200 by claiming that his newly-purchased pharmacy in US was "seized" by the authorities over visa issues and that he "had some difficulty making the mortgage payments". Later Saad conned the same friend, named only as 'Person A' in court documents, into sending him a total of £127,150 by lying about a non-existent cancer diagnosis and private treatment. Finally, he extracted a further £121,339.95 from an investments and credit group (named Company A) of which his friend was chief executive after inviting him to set up a 'pharmaceutical warehouse', a plan that "impressed Person A and he agreed to invest in the business."

The Council of the Pharmaceutical Society NI (PSNI) to remove the two-year requirement as a registered pharmacist to have an Independent Prescriber (IP) annotation on the pharmacy register in Northern Ireland. It has further endorsed that the two-year requirement for entry onto stand-alone pharmacist independent prescribing courses be removed and replaced with an assessment before admission, by course providers, based upon guidance provided by the regulator. In conjunction with the Department of Health, the PSNI will now work towards a further public consultation on the necessary legislative changes. Dr Jim Livingstone, president of the PSNI, said: "The Department of Health has set a clear direction which will see pharmacist independent prescribers becoming increasingly important in the delivery of pharmacy services in Northern Ireland. Our role is to protect the public, but we are clear that our regulatory objective should not be an unnecessary barrier to the development of the profession and enhanced services being provided to the public."

The Council of Pharmaceutical Society NI (PSNI) has introduced an 8-week public consultation on proposed Guidance on Pharmacy Staffing Levels within registered premises. The principle-based Guidance seeks to assist Pharmacy Owners and Superintendents to ensure that each pharmacy has enough appropriately skilled and qualified staff to provide safe and effective pharmacy services to the public. All registered pharmacies will have to meet the standards set out in the Premises Standards, when commenced. PSNI said: "The proposed Guidance should also help ensure a working environment that will facilitate pharmacists to meet their professional obligations under the Professional Standards of Conduct, Ethics and Performance for Pharmacists in Northern Ireland (2016)." "Whilst other health regulators have primary responsibility for systems regulation outside of regulated premises, we consider that the principles outlined in this Guidance, will be helpful for managers working with pharmacy teams in different settings."

Pharmacists with 'relevant experience in a pharmacy setting' can enroll for accredited independent prescribing course, as the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has decided to scrap the requirement of spending at least two years on the register and having previous experience in a specified clinical or therapeutic area before enrolling for the course. The GPhC Council meeting held on Thursday instead proposed that applicants must have "relevant experience in a pharmacy setting and be able to recognise, understand and articulate the skills and attributes required by a prescriber." This experience and awareness will act as the basis of their prescribing practice whilst training. The regulator noted that the majority of stakeholder organisations, including the Chief Pharmaceutical Officers, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the statutory education bodies, were in favour of removing the requirement in a consultation on the topic. They highlighted that a specific two-year period was not in itself a robust indication of whether an individual was ready to become a prescriber. They also highlighted that the rapidly developing roles in the profession meant more pharmacists were likely to gain the necessary experience more quickly than in the past. A smaller number of organisations and a larger minority of individuals were opposed, citing that a specific two-year period gave pharmacists the time they needed to develop experience and confidence before being ready to enrol on a course.

A recent report published by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has highlighted a significant increase in the number of registered pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, indicating the expanding role of these professionals in the UK healthcare system. As of May 31, 2024, the GPhC register recorded a total of 90,739 pharmacy professionals, up from 90,604 at the end of April 2024. This includes 64,415 pharmacists and 26,324 pharmacy technicians, maintaining a steady split of 71 per cent pharmacists and 29 per cent pharmacy technicians. This reflects an overall increase of four pharmacists and 131 pharmacy technicians from the previous month. The report underscores the critical role of pharmacy professionals in ensuring high-quality patient care and supporting the operational efficiency of pharmacies.

International day for persons with disabilities on 3rd December - Note on schemes for the welfare of persons with disabilities and concessions available to them. The Government of India is committed for the realization of full participation, protection of rights, and equal opportunities to all including persons with disabilities. India is a country where most of the population lives in the rural areas and accessing the health and rehabilitation services has always been a challenge. In a Backgrounder issued yesterday, a brief summary of the major steps initiated by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in this direction were given. Following is the Background Note on the legislative and Institutional framework along with the major schemes of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment for the welfare of the People with Disabilities (PwDs). The Note also contains information on facilities and concessions available to PwDs under other central schemes which are being run by other Union Ministries. OFFER ON INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY DAY Wheelchair @ 4499 INR Tricycle @ 6500 INR Legislative Framework: There are four important legislations dealing on disabilities issues- The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, has laid the foundation of recognition of rights for Persons with Disabilities and has facilitated development of specific programmes for their education, rehabilitation, employment, non-discrimination and social security. The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992 regulates and monitors training of rehabilitation professionals and personnel. The National Trust for the welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999, aims at enabling and empowering persons with disabilities to live independently as fully as possible in their community. Mental Health Act, 1987, address to the specific needs of persons with ment

The National Health Service said that over 425,000 patients have utilised its new national online service to complete GP registration within its inaugural year. The GP surgery registration service, managed by NHS England, has granted NHS patients efficient and user-friendly access to GP registration since its inception in August 2022. According to the NHS, more than 1,400 GP surgeries, a fifth of the national count, have joined the NHS online registration service as part of a new plan to improve access to primary care. "This aligns with a new strategy to enhance primary care access, with a target of enrolling 2,000 practices in the Register with a GP surgery service by December 2023." Many GP surgeries still use paper forms, requiring patients to visit surgeries to collect paperwork. However, the new online service has been shown to save GP surgery staff up to 15 minutes per registration by helping to reduce paperwork and admin time, the NHS said. The NHS said that this service enables patients to register with a local GP online at any time, eliminating the need for in-person visits and simplifying the process for both patients and GP surgeries.

The VAT penalties regime has had substantial changes with effect from 01 January 2023 and it is important for community pharmacy business owners to take note as this is a crucial cash inflow for most. Below we explore the changes that will impact all VAT registered community pharmacy businesses. Old regime Prior to 01 January 2023, VAT registered businesses that failed to file their VAT returns or pay any VAT liabilities would be subject to the default surcharge regime. There would be no surcharge for NIL or repayment VAT returns which would apply to most community pharmacy businesses. New regime For VAT periods starting on or after 01 January 2023, the default surcharge will be replaced by a new VAT penalties and interest regime if you submit your VAT returns late or pay your VAT liability late. If you pay your VAT monthly or quarterly, the deadline for filing your VAT return and paying any VAT liabilities is one calendar month and 7 days after the end of the respective period. For example, if you are filing the VAT return for the month or quarter ended 30 June 2022, the deadline for filing will be 07 August 2022. The liability must also be paid and cleared by that date.

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 government has extended VAT exemption from Monday (1 May) on healthcare services carried out by pharmacy staff under the supervision of pharmacists. HM Revenue and Customs has issued a note detailing the change to the VAT treatment of medical services. The Government said this will bring the VAT treatment of pharmacists in line with other registered health professionals providing medical services to the public. The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said: "This is something that PSNC has been seeking Government agreement on for a long time, including in recent CPCF negotiations." PSNC believes that the extension of this VAT exemption will help as community pharmacy businesses try to make better use of the skill mix in their teams both now and in the future. "Not only does it enable contractors to review the VAT status of any locally commissioned services currently provided by non-registered pharmacy staff but also, in time, it could be used to amend nationally commissioned services to allow support staff to provide certain parts. For example, following a recent amendment to the service Directions, pharmacy technicians are now able to perform blood pressure checks as part of the Hypertension Case-Finding Service and deliver the Smoking Cessation Service.

The Pharmacist' Defence Association (PDA) has welcomed the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI)'s plan to ensure a more robust, fair and positive experience for trainees, provisionally registered and potential pharmacists who will be sitting the November 2022 assessment. "Many candidates at the latest (June 2022) assessment experienced significant delays, technical issues, inadequate invigilation, and disturbances in test centres around the UK as the newly appointed company BTL ran the high-stakes pharmacist examinations for the first time. The next online exam is due in November 2022 and the PDA welcome proposed improvements to be introduced before that sitting," said the association. For some, provisional registration was the accepted response from the GPhC, but for others, such as potential pharmacists who did not want the provisional role, those unable to find a suitable provisional post, or some that did not meet the criteria for provisional registration, they found themselves in financial difficulties through no fault of their own, having reasonably expected to have joined the register in the Summer.

Johnson & Johnson has made it to the list of top 10 most innovative companies in the world released by FOREX.com. The US-based pharmaceutical company is the fourth most innovative company, scoring 8.23/10 in the innovation index. Johnson & Johnson is the only pharmaceutical company making it to top 10 list, which makes it the world's most innovative pharmaceutical company in 2023. The ranking is based on many factors such as the number of US-registered patents in 2022, the number of R&D expenses over the last 12 consecutive months and their last reported intangible assets. The health giant spent £37.16 billion on intangible assets (the second highest after Apple), £11.87 billion on R&D last year and registered 1,377 patents last year.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published plans to amend current pharmacy legislation on dispensing errors and clarify how registered pharmacies are governed. The Department's response to a public consultation on rebalancing medicines legislation and pharmacy regulation programme first proposed in summer 2018 was delayed due to Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. The programme aims to clarify and strengthen the organisational governance arrangements of registered pharmacies, specifically to define and clarify the core purpose of the Responsible Pharmacist and Superintendent Pharmacist roles. It will also give the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) powers to define in professional standards how those roles are fulfilled.

It isn't the hardest thing to find the right physiotherapist to treat you, but like many other professions, especially in health, physiotherapy has a number of different areas of expertise that are governed by strict and high standards of service. Physiotherapists have to be well educated and officially registered in order to practice. Identifying which therapist is able to provide the treatment for your specific needs and requires more than just picking up a phone book, or selecting the first site that pops up on google. Here's a list of what to look for when selecting a therapist as well as when to look for one. What to Look for Check their qualifications As is the case with any healthcare practitioner, it is important that your physiotherapist is fully qualified and accredited. It is required by law that they complete a degree at an approved educational institution, and are registered with the Physiotherapy Board. The board is responsible for keeping professional standards up to where they need to be, and for making sure that the Code of Practice is upheld.