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The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has produced a new resource to support pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who are providing pharmacy services to children and young people with gender incongruence or dysphoria. It emphasises that pharmacy teams providing such services need to adhere to the standard process of clinical assessment and care provision they have been trained to take as healthcare professionals. The starting point is that pharmacy professionals must provide compassionate, inclusive and person-centred care, within the current relevant legal and regulatory context. "It's essential that all patients have access to appropriate, high-quality and respectful healthcare, free from discrimination or bias," the GPhC noted

The Pharmacist's Defence Association (PDA) has raised concerns over the adoption of Digital Clinical Excellence (DiCE) guidelines for online prescribing of GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight management in adults. This follows a clash with expert recommendations commissioned by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) as the PDA "believes the final guidance conflicts with the expert opinion underpins the GPhC's prosecution strategy towards pharmacist prescribers under investigation." In a recent statement, the PDA highlighted the discrepancy between DiCE's guidance and the expert report employed by the GPhC to prosecute pharmacist prescribers using a questionnaire-based consultation model. This conflict has prompted the PDA to withhold its endorsement of the DiCE guidance as it differs from an expert report commissioned by the GPhC. The PDA's reservations stem from the inherent risks associated with questionnaire-based prescribing.

In a surprising move that has divided the pharmacy profession, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has sanctioned hundreds of pharmacies to allow patients to self-select certain Pharmacy (P) medicines, a decision met with strong opposition from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) as well as from the Pharmacy Defense Association (PDA). In a statement, RPS shared that at a board meeting held on 19th June, they expressed "disappointment" over what they described as a lack of prior consultation and comprehensive communication from the GPhC regarding the implications of this policy shift. They argue that allowing patients to self-select certain P medicines could potentially jeopardize established professional guidelines and compromise the role of pharmacists in ensuring safe medication use. "Enabled by the General Pharmaceutical Council, we understand that hundreds of pharmacies, from large multiples to small independents, have been approved by the regulator to enable patients to self-select certain P medicines," the statement said.