GPhC and Pharmacy Voice call for English language controls

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Pharmacy Voice have come together to call for English language controls for European pharmacists to be implemented as soon as possible.

Currently, the revised Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive – which will allow the GPhC to assess the language competence of pharmacists – is not set to be implemented until 2015.

However, the two pharmacy organisations want UK legislation to be changed before then in the interest of patient safety. The General Medical Council is already pushing for powers to refuse a licence to practise for any doctor who is unable to show the necessary knowledge of English.

Currently, the responsibility for testing language capabilities lies with employers, but this state of affairs creates a considerable practical burden, while the inevitable variability of these assessments creates risks.

Rob Darracott, spokesman for Pharmacy Voice, told PJ Online: "We must do it now; we can't wait until 2015. Let's start talking about the issue now."

This comes at a time when the GPhC is also seeking to implement a more strenuous system of inspections for UK pharmacies.