GPhC

A heated debate about fees and a major consultation on pharmacist education have grabbed the headlines in a busy period for pharmacy’s regulator. Interview by Richard Thomas

The employer-led ‘trailblazer group’ behind apprenticeship proposals is to consider the responses to its consultation before deciding whether to proceed

Carrying out patient ID checks and liaising with GPs are among the safeguarding measures required of online pharmacies under new guidance

Proposals to allow pharmacists to qualify via a five-year apprenticeship scheme have sparked controversy as the profession seeks clarity

The PDA is seeing the first UK cases of patients bringing claims against pharmacists over vaccination administration

Enforcement options range from improvement action plans to statutory enforcement powers eg. improvement notices

“Serious and realistic concern” over how the five-year MPharm degrees proposed by the GPhC are to be funded

Five new members of the GPhC council are to begin their terms on April 1 after a raft of new appointments

A majority of respondents disagreed with the GphC’s proposals but it said the fee increase was necessary

The PDA's report on the UK pharmacy technician workforce has been published in full

PM asked the GPhC to comment on whether staffing levels could be contributing to a spike in FTP concerns

Pharmacy bodies have collaborated on a learning resource on the events at Gosport, which saw at least 450 patients die

The PDA says the regulator should first review costs such as premises and council member remuneration

Could pharmacist training change to an integrated model that incorporates 52 weeks of “learning in practice”?

The GPhC is proposing wide-ranging changes to the education and training pharmacists receive

Parveen's dispensing assistant asks about her husband standing in as a delivery driver 

A pharmacist employed by the NPA had engaged in an act of sexual impropriety and then failed to disclose his police caution

“Operational changes” such as unannounced inspections and binary inspection outcomes are set to follow

There is a broad consensus among the public that moving to unannounced inspections will provide assurance pharmacies provide safe care

A “rising number of concerns about registrants” being raised is among the workload factors that have contributed to the GPhC's proposing to increase its fees