New Chief Pharmacy Officer and Chief Enforcement Officer announced for GPhC

The GPhC is delighted to welcome Roz Gittins as Chief Pharmacy Officer and Deputy Registrar, and Dionne Spence as Chief Enforcement Officer and Deputy Registrar.

These new chief officers will join existing staff members Mark Voce in his new role as Chief Strategy Officer and Deputy Registrar and Jonathan Bennetts as Chief Operating Officer & Deputy Registrar. These roles will form the new executive structure of the GPhC, helping the organisation to achieve the next steps in their strategic plan, and ultimately the GPhC’s Vision 2030.

Roz Gittins, Chief Pharmacy Officer and Deputy Registrar

As the most senior member of the profession within the GPhC executive, Roz will provide pharmacy leadership across the GPhC, by: 

  • representing the pharmacy regulator authoritatively on professional issues in public, with the pharmacy professions and, increasingly, in multi-disciplinary teams and multi-disciplinary collaborative regulatory work

  • acting as the executive lead on pharmacy inspection and regulatory insight 

  • providing cross-cutting professional leadership within the GPhC, working with our pharmacist and pharmacy technician colleagues across the organisation

Roz said:

"I’m looking forward to joining the GPhC team in the new year. As a registrant, I know how important it is for our regulator to connect more effectively with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. I hope that this new role, alongside Dionne and other GPhC colleagues, offers a unique opportunity to influence progress, at an exciting and challenging time for the pharmacy professions."

Dionne Spence, Chief Enforcement Officer and Deputy Registrar

Dionne will have oversight of all our enforcement action, and will responsible for:  

  • overseeing and enhancing our Fitness to Practise processes and enforcement actions against registered pharmacies
  • promoting a consistent strategic and cultural approach to fitness to practise and pharmacy enforcement, driving seamless integration
  • overseeing enforcement action against education providers, as required

Dionne said:

"I am delighted to be joining the GPhC, my second healthcare regulator, in this new and exciting role, and at such a critical time for the pharmacy professions. Coming in at the inception of this innovative approach to leadership, with a team so committed to streamlining our regulatory functions and improving the service provided to all users is incredibly exciting and will provide great benefit to the sector. I am really looking forward to joining Duncan, Mark, Jonathan and Roz in January to develop and continue this journey."

Duncan Rudkin, GPhC Chief Executive, said:

"I wish both Roz and Dionne a very warm welcome to the GPhC, and look forward to working with them to achieve our Vision 2030, in partnership with patients and the public, our stakeholders, and the pharmacy profession as a whole. Both roles are critical in making sure that our organisational structure supports stronger engagement with the pharmacy professions and effective delivery of our regulatory services.  We’ll be working together to make sure the organisation is driven by desired outcomes set out in our vision, rather than processes and procedures."