Regulation in healthcare

Government proposes raising qualifying age for free NHS prescriptions to 66 years

The government has proposed raising the upper age exemption for prescriptions in England to generate additional revenue for the NHS.…

High Court quashes ‘antisemitism’ fitness-to-practise decision

The High Court judgement said that the General Pharmaceutical Council's fitness-to-practise committee "wrongly took account" of the intention of pharmacist Nazim Ali "when assessing whether his language was objectively antisemitic".…

GPhC to address over-representation of BAME pharmacists in fitness-to-practise concerns in overhauled process

The General Pharmaceutical Council has set out proposals to collect more data about the sources of fitness-to-practise concerns surrounding pharmacists from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.…

Pharmacy regulator to blind fitness-to-practise investigations against racial bias

The General Pharmaceutical Council is to introduce blind reviews during its fitness-to-practise investigations in an attempt to remove bias from the system. …

Pharmacy regulator proposes speeding up fitness-to-practise decisions by making more enquiries earlier

More enquiries could be made earlier in the fitness-to-practise process to ensure some concerns are dealt with more quickly, under a new strategy proposed by the pharmacy regulator.…

Pharmacy regulator fails four in ten fitness-to-practise standards in watchdog report

The General Pharmaceutical Council has failed to meet four out of ten fitness-to-practise standards set by the Professional Standards Authority, an annual review has found.…

Record number of complaints to regulator for the second quarter in a row

The number of fitness-to-practise complaints raised with the General Pharmaceutical Council has hit a record high for the second quarter in a row.…

The deadly online prescribing loophole

Online prescribing has long operated in a regulatory grey area, with some online pharmacies evading oversight by exploiting technical loopholes in the law.…

My fitness-to-practise treatment was nerve-wracking but fair

In her blog, ‘My horrific encounter with ‘fitness to practise’’, pharmacist Sarah Seddon shares the harrowing experience she had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and she was only a witness in the case. Without wanting to detract in any way from Seddon’s ord…

GPhC proposes 40% increase in annual pharmacy registration costs

The General Pharmaceutical Council is consulting on whether to increase annual registration fees for pharmacy premises by £103 from October 2020.…