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Standards

In 2010, the General Pharmaceutical Council will replace the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain as the regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and registered pharmacy premises. The protection of patients and the public will be our first priority.

We will
• set standards for conduct, ethics, proficiency, education and training, and continuing professional development (CPD)
• maintain a register of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises
• monitor pharmacy professionals' fitness to practise and deal firmly and fairly with complaints
• approve qualifications for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians
• set standards for pharmacy owners and superintendent pharmacists and inspect pharmacy premises.

These standards will come into force when we replace the RPSGB as the regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and registered pharmacy premises.

The initial development of the draft standards was done in conjunction with a number of stakeholders, including patients and the public, before we were established. This inclusive and participative process was intended to give pharmacy professionals and other stakeholders an opportunity to start to feed in comments at an early stage and ensure that the standards developed are fit for purpose.

As we were not established, the initial consultation on the draft standards was hosted by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) between October 2009 and January 2010. A report on this consultation can be found at:

www.chre.org.uk/_img/pics/library/100317_GPhC_standards_consultation_Final_report.pdf

We considered the results of that initial consultation and used them as the starting point for our decisions on how to proceed with the draft standards and how to revise them.

The first consultation on the draft standards was very successful in generating a wide range of views, providing a wealth of useful information. There were some common themes around the drafting and presentation of the initial draft standards. Following redrafting of four sets of standards we conducted a second consultation through the GPhC website. The report of that consultation is available on our consultation page.

The following are the four sets of standards which have been agreed upon by the GPhC Council following final amends as the result of the second consultation. These standards will come into effect from the first day of operation and pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and registered pharmacy premises are advised to begin to familiarise themselves with the standards required of them

GPhC Standards for conduct, ethics and performance  [PDF opens new window, 78KB]

GPhC Standards for continuing professional development  [PDF opens new window, 54KB]

GPhC standards for the initial education and training of pharmacy technicians  [PDF opens new window, 120KB]

GPhC Standards for pharmacy owners and superintendent pharmacists of retail pharmacy businesses  [PDF opens new window, 79KB]

Hard copies of the standards for conduct ethics and performance and continuing professional development will be distributed to registrants prior to the transfer of regulation.

In some cases we are proposing to set interim standards, namely CPD and Owners, premises and superintendent pharmacists. This will allow us time to carry out further work on important issues while continuing to protect the health and safety of patients and the public.

We intend to consult on standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists later this year, in time to enable educational institutions time to plan for the implementation of any necessary changes in a managed fashion. The standards of proficiency and the return to practice policy will be consulted on at a later date.