GPhC’s fitness to practice decisions praised by PSA

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has been praised for the fairness and effectiveness of its fitness to practise processes in the pharmacy sector.

A review by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) audited 100 cases in September 2012 and noted that complaints about registrants are generally being dealt with promptly and in an even-handed manner.

Investigations and risk assessment procedures were found to be robust, with 21 cases being closed well within the GPhC's targeted timeframes, while improvements such as the introduction of a quality assurance scheme were observed.

The report included recommendations for improvement in relation to record-keeping and correspondence, though it was recognised that progress has been made in this regard already.

Duncan Rudkin, the chief executive of the GPhC, said: "We are continually working to make further improvements, including in the areas recommended in this report, in order to meet the high standards we want to achieve in our management of fitness to practise cases."

The organisation independently regulates more than 70,000 pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises across England, Scotland and Wales.