News archive

The GPhC’s governing council has agreed to increase registration renewal fees for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises from 15 October 2015. This follows an extended period where fees for individual registrants were either reduced or remained the same.
The General Pharmaceutical Council has published new guidance to help the Fitness to Practise Committee decide what sanction is appropriate in particular cases.
The GPhC has published on its website the pass rate for the June sittings of the registration assessment for each school of pharmacy since it became responsible for the exam.
The GPhC has started the recruitment process for standard setters as part of its preparation for introducing a new, more patient focussed registration assessment in 2016. The role of these standard setters is to evaluate questions before they are used in an assessment to check that they are of the right standard and are relevant to practice.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has launched a national conversation with patients, the public and pharmacy professionals about what patient-centred professionalism means to them. The outcomes of this conversation will inform the GPhC’s future regulatory work, and in particular the review of its standards of conduct, ethics and performance.
The GPhC has contacted all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to inform them that it will be seeking their views as part of an evaluation into its approach to the regulation of registered pharmacies, conducted by ICF International (ICF).
The GPhC has published new guidance which sets out the key areas that need to be considered by registered pharmacies that provide services at a distance. All pharmacies that provide services such as the electronic prescription service, a collection and delivery service or an internet pharmacy service will be expected to follow the guidance.
A collection of objects charting the history of pharmacy, loaned by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum, has gone on display at the General Pharmaceutical Council’s headquarters in Canary Wharf. It is a symbol of the importance of the relationship that exists between the regulator and the professional body for pharmacists. During a formal opening of the new display at the GPhC, both organisations commented on their respective roles in the context of a rapidly changing pharmacy environment.
Commenting on the appointment of Rose Marie Parr as the new Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Scotland, Duncan Rudkin, Chief Executive of the GPhC, said: “I am delighted to learn of Rose Marie Parr’s appointment as Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Scotland..."
The GPhC has published a report that looks at the quality of the education and training of pharmacy technician in England, Scotland and Wales. The report produced by the Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Issues at the University of Manchester, represents the first comprehensive study into the quality of pharmacy technician education and training since it became a fully regulated profession in 2010.