GPhC highlights public protection role in annual fitness to practise report

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has reaffirmed the central role of its fitness to practise processes in protecting patients and maintaining confidence in pharmacy professionals, as part of its Annual Report and Annual Fitness to Practise Report 2025/26.

Published on 17 September 2026, the report outlines the regulator’s work over the previous year and details how it responded to concerns about pharmacists and pharmacy technicians registered in Great Britain. The fitness to practise report forms part of the GPhC’s statutory reporting requirements to Parliament and the Scottish Parliament.

The regulator said fitness to practise activity remains a key mechanism for protecting the public where concerns are raised about the conduct, competence or health of a pharmacy professional. Through its regulatory processes, the GPhC seeks to ensure that patients receive safe and effective care and that confidence in the pharmacy professions is maintained.

The report highlights that concerns can be considered at several stages of the fitness to practise process, including initial assessment, review by case examiners and referral to a committee hearing when necessary. Where impairment is established, outcomes can include warnings, conditions on practice, suspension or removal from the register.

The GPhC also emphasised that its approach is focused on public protection rather than punishment, with decisions intended to safeguard patients, uphold professional standards and maintain public trust in pharmacy services.

Alongside its fitness to practise work, the regulator reported continued collaboration with healthcare regulators and partner organisations to address emerging risks affecting patient safety, including issues linked to medicines safety and online prescribing.

The report notes that members of the public can view published fitness to practise decisions through the GPhC’s online register, which also provides information about registered pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacists with prescribing annotations.

In its foreword, the regulator said it had continued to adapt its regulatory approach in response to increasing complexity across pharmacy practice while maintaining a focus on protecting patients and the public.

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