In Profession news

Follow this topic

Bookmark

Record learning outcomes

New guidance on how concerns about pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacies are assessed has been published by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

The new acceptance criteria are intended to provide guidance for GPhC staff, pharmacy professionals, members of the public and those who have raised - or are considering raising - concerns about pharmacy related issues.

It clarifies those matters for which the GPhC can open an investigation into an individual pharmacy professional’s fitness to practise, or where it may wish to inspect how safely a pharmacy is operating.

The new criteria provide greater transparency regarding the types of concerns the GPhC can and cannot act upon, the regulator says. They also aim to reduce “inappropriate or misdirected concerns” by helping the public and pharmacy teams better understand:

• which matters genuinely raise questions about fitness to practise
• what the standards for registered pharmacies are and when they are not met
• when the GPhC is required to step in to protect patient safety or uphold public confidence.

The new guidance comes after the GPhC received more than 7,500 concerns last year – the highest number in the regulator’s history - and in part aims to reduce the number of concerns received that fall outside the GPhC’s regulatory remit.

The GPhC makes clear it is a statutory regulator with specific powers and responsibilities. “We are not a general pharmacy complaints body, and our role is not to resolve disputes - even when those disputes relate to pharmacy professionals or pharmacies,” it says.

“Our role, which is governed by law, is limited to those matters where there is an ongoing risk to patient safety, or where public confidence could be seriously undermined in pharmacy.”

The GPhC has also made its webpage on reporting concerns easier to understand, so “anyone with a concern can direct it to the right place where it can be dealt with as effectively as possible.”