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A High Court in Birmingham has reserved judgement in a legal challenge to the proposed standards for pharmacy professionals put forward by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), the pharmacy regulator.
The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA), a pharmacist membership organisation, went to the High Court on 23 March 2017 seeking permission for a judicial review of the proposed standards — which apply to pharmacists at all times, in and out of work — arguing that they infringe an individual’s human rights.
The court heard evidence from the PDA and the GPhC in what the two organisations confirmed was an “expedited” and “rolled-up hearing”, meaning that the judge took evidence to inform both the court’s decision about whether to grant permission for a judicial review and the substantive judicial review case.
The judgement is expected within the next two to three weeks.
